Professor Elisabeth Sadoulet (esadoulet@berkeley.edu)
GSI Andrew Dustan (adustan@berkeley.edu)
Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-11 am, 141 Giannini Hall
Sections: Wednesday 8-9 am (2304 Tolman Hall)
3-4 pm (3102 Etcheverry Hall)
Office Hours
Professor Sadoulet: Wednesday 10am-12pm (213 Giannini Hall)
GSI Andrew Dustan: Thursday 1-2pm (313 Giannini Hall)
Monday 10-11am (only on weeks when problem sets are due)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
December 2:
Here is a list of relevant dates and times for final exam review:
Monday 12/6, 10-11am: Andrew office hour
Tuesday 12/7, 9:40-11am: Review session in Giannini 141 (Andrew)
Wednesday 12/8, noon-2pm: Professor Sadoulet office hour
Thursday 12/9, 1-2pm: Andrew office hour
Friday 12/10, 4-6pm: Review session over old final exam questions in Giannini 141 (Prof. Sadoulet)
Monday 12/13, 10am-noon: Andrew office hour
November 28:
Many things were added to the website over the break:
1) Keys are posted for the old finals. We also posted another final (2007). We suggest that you try to work through these finals without looking at the keys, referring to your notes when you are truly stuck, and then grade yourself with the keys. This should give you a good idea of what you know and what you need to review. There is also a list of topics for the final (also in the Exams section).
2) The key to problem set 5 is up as well. You can get it from Andrew after lecture on Tuesday or in section.
3) The materials from last section are posted, both the original handout and the solved version. Make sure to look at them if you missed section.
4) Andrew's office hours are on for tomorrow (Monday) at 10am.
November 22:
Problem Set 6 is posted. Note that the due date is later than usual, but you should still get a start on it ASAP.
There WILL be section on Wednesday, 11/24.
Due to the holiday, Andrew's office hour this week is rescheduled from Thursday to Wednesday, 2pm-3pm.
November 18:
Daily Assignment 7 is posted. Problem Set 6 will be posted in the next two days. Make sure to get an early start on it in the next week.
November 4:
Problem Set 5 is now posted online. It appears a bit long (3 exercises) but you will find that most or all of Exercise 3 is a review of dummy variables and interactions. Exercise 2 might be easier after lecture on Tuesday, but the rest of them can be done now.
The Daily Assignment for Tuesday is also posted. It includes a very short research idea/proposal, which I will look at for each of you. This Daily Assignment will count for two check marks -- one for the actual practice question and one for the research proposal. This is to reward your effort in doing both. Remember that a good Daily Assignment score may be used to bump your grade up in borderline cases.
October 27:
1) I went too slow in section today and we didn't do everything on the handout. Sorry. I posted the solved handout on the website, including parts we didn't have time to finish. Look it over before you do the problem set as it might help you.
2) Solutions for Daily Assignment 5 are posted. Note the very last part of the solutions (not asked in the Wooldridge problem) where we compare the SAT and log(SAT) models to see which one is better.
3) If you didn't get your midterm in section today, make sure to get it from me soon. Solutions, the grading guide, and the grade distribution are posted on the website.
4) I'll try to make some comments about common midterm mistakes next week, after you've had time to look at the solutions and compare them to your exam.
October 23:
Problem Set 4 was posted today. It is due Tuesday, November 2.
Section 8 notes are posted. We didn't talk about part 1; it is just for your reference and I encourage you to read it. If you weren't in section, make sure to get your graded PS3 from me and check out the grading distribution online.
Midterms will be returned this Wednesday in section, barring something unexpected.
October 15:
Problem Set 3 solutions are posted. I want to stress that Exercise 2, #6 was a difficult problem because it asked you to compute the standard error for the difference in two proportions. This wasn't taught explicitly in class and it challenged you to combine your knowledge of the difference in means of a continuous variable with the properties of binary (0/1) variables. It was possible to follow a different process than what is in the solutions and get a very similar answer--in any case I will be generous when grading this problem.
Your focus in preparing for the exam should NOT be trying to understand the minutae of these problem set solutions. The practice exam questions are a much better indicator of what you'll see on this midterm.
October 13:
1) The review session for the midterm will be held by Prof. Sadoulet in 141 Giannini on Sunday 10/17, 2:00-3:30pm (2pm SHARP, not Berkeley time).
2) Andrew will hold additional office hours on Monday 10/18, 10-11am and 2-3pm. Bring your last-minute questions. This is a time best used to clear up doubts and solidify your understanding, not to try to learn huge portions of material at the last minute!
3) All midterm preparation materials are posted in the "Exams" section of this website. This includes the 2008-9 midterms as well as additional exercises from old midterms. There is also an outline of potential topics to be tested. Note the correction to the 2008 #2 solution.
4) The key to PS3 will be posted soon. If you are still planning to turn this in late, contact me immediately. Once I post the solutions, you can't turn it in anymore.
October 6:
1) I posted the solutions to the 2008 midterm in the "exams" section. I'll put up the 2009 solutions as soon as I have them, so check back soon.
2) I made some typos on the Section 6 handout (this week's). The corrected version is now posted. I also posted the corrected version with changes in red type so you can quickly see what changed from your printed copy. Sorry for the mistakes, but I hope the handouts still provide you with positive net benefit.
October 5:
Solutions to problem set 2 are posted. I wanted to hand back the graded PS2 after section, but it's taking a long time to grade. You can pick them up after Thursday's lecture.
Also, solutions to most daily assignments/practice are posted. I'll try to do this for all of them in the future.
September 30:
Problem Set 3 is posted. Your new Daily Assignment is posted as well.
September 26:
Problem Set 2 comments were made by email. You can see them here: 9/26 announcements.
September 21:
Several announcements were made by email. You can see them here: 9/21 announcements.
September 15:
The past two years of midterms are available for download. We haven't yet covered a lot of the material that's on the midterm, but you might still look at it and see what kinds of questions you'll encounter. All current handouts and section materials are also posted.
MORNING SECTION: We ran out of time to hand back Daily Exercises #1 and #2 today, so I'll just set them out up front right AFTER lecture tomorrow.
September 1:
Problem set 1 is now posted (click on the "Problem Sets" link above). It is due Tuesday, September 14.
August 29:
Remember that daily assignment 1 (posted on this website) is due this Tuesday.
August 13:
Text
We will use Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach, by Jeffrey M. Wooldridge. The most recent edition is the 4th, but earlier editions are acceptable substitutes. There will be several copies on reserve at Moffitt Library. Reserve call numbers will be posted here when they are available.
Software
Problem sets will require you to use a data analysis and statistical software program called Stata. We will begin using Stata in a tutorial during the second week of class. If you want to purchase your own copy of the software for your laptop or home computer, a single-user six-month license for Small Stata (sufficient for this course) is available through Berkeley’s GradPlan for $29. (An annual license is $49.) Note that a license allows you to install the software on up to three of your own computers. See http://www.stata.com/order/schoollist.html to purchase (Select University of California, Berkeley, then look for the product you want). Software is delivered to campus for pick-up after your online purchase. There are often delays in delivering copies of Stata at the beginning of the semester, so if you are sure that you will take this class you should order a copy ASAP to ensure you receive it on time.