| Lecture |
Before Class |
Assignments and Deadlines |
Lab |
1
1/15
Causation
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Read
- MM, Chapter 1
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 1 (Introduction), and Chapter 4.1 (Physical Randomization)
- Malhi, Sabrina. “More children are getting kidney stones. Experts think it's their diet.” Washington Post, January 2, 2025. Read through paragraph about urban heat islands. [link]
- Supplemental
- Helpful overview: Imbens and Wooldridge, 2009. “Econometrics of Program Evaluation,” Journal of Economic Literature. [link]
- Example of controlling for observables: Brooks et al, “The Cabals of a Few or the Confusion of a Multitude” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2011. [link]
- Unit of observation discussion by Social Security
From class
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Assigned
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2
1/22
Fixed Effects
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Read
- MM, Chapter 2
- Black, Sandra et al., 2005. “The More the Merrier? The Effect of Family Size and Birth Order on Childrens' Education” [link]
- skip III.D.-III.G., and sections V & VI
From class
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Handouts
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x |
3
1/29
Difference-in-differences 1
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 9, sections 9.1 (John Snow's Cholera Hypothesis) and 9.2 (Estimation)
- Milligan, Kevin. “Subsidizing the Stork: New Evidence on Tax Incentives and Fertility”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 2005. [link]
From class
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Due
- Problem Set 1
- One-page proposal
Assigned
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x |
4
2/5
Difference-in-differences 2
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Read
- Janssen, Aljoscha and Xuan Zhang, “Retail Pharmacies and Drug Diversion During the Opioid Epidemic”, American Economic Review, 2023. [link].
- Supplemental
- A interesting event study example: Garcia-Jimeno, Iglesias and Yildrim, “Information Networks and Collective Action: Evidence from the Women's Temperance Crusade”, American Economic Review, 2022. [link]
- Bertrand et al. “How Much Should We Trust Differences-in-differences Estimates?” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2004. [link]
- Skim Section 4, with the exception of 4C, which you should read carefully
From class
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5
2/12
Instrumental Variables 1
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Read
- Mastering Metrics, Chapter 3
- Angrist and Kreuger, “Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1991. [link]
- Supplemental
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 3.1 (DAG Notation; only through 3.1.1), Chapter 7.1 (History) through 7.4 (Parental Methaphetamine)
From class
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Due
Assigned
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6
2/19
Instrumental Variables 2
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 7.5 (Problem of Weak Instruments)
- And read one of the following; we split the class between
- Collins and Margo, “The Economic Aftermath of the 1960s Riots in American Cities: Evidence from Property Values”, Journal of Economic History. 2007. [link]
- Nguyen, Hoai-Luu, “Are Credit Markets Still Local? Evidence from Bank Branch Closings” working paper, 2017. [link]
- through page 20 is sufficient
- Supplemental
- When rain isn't a good instrument: Sarsons, Heather, “Rainfall and conflict: A cautionary tale”, Journal of Development Economics, July 2015. [link]
- Bound, Baker and Jaeger, “Problems with Instrumental Variables Estimation When the Correlation Between the Instruments and the Endogeneous Explanatory Variable is Weak,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1995. [link]
- An entertaining lament from David Jaeger on the fate of this critique
From class
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Handout
- Quantitative progress instructions
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x |
7
2/26
Regression Discontinuity 1
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 6.1 (Huge Popularity), Chapter 6.2 (Estimation Using RD; only through 6.2.3)
- Anderson, Michael L., “Subways, Strikes and Slowdowns: The Impacts of Public Transit on Traffic Congestion” American Economic Review, 2014. [link]
- Focus on Section 3, which we will discuss in class
- Feel free to skim Section 2 (Theoretical Model)
- Supplemental
- Lee and Lemieux, “Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics,” NBER Working Paper 14723, 2009. [link]
From class
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8
3/5
Regression Discontinuity 2
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 6.2.7 (Fuzzy RD), Chapter 6.3 (Challenges to Identification), Chapter 6.5 (Regression Kink)
- Manoli and Turner, “Cash-on-Hand and College Enrollment: Evidence from Population Tax Data and the Earned Income Tax Credit” [link]
- Read through Section 3.3; skim 3.4
- discuss fuzzy RD, RD kink
From class
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Handouts
Due
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Break
3/12
Spring Break
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9
3/19
Matching 1
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 5.1 (Subclassification)
- Brooks, Leah, “Volunteering to be Taxed: Business Improvement Districts and the Provision of Public Safety,” Journal of Public Economics 2008. [link]
- Supplemental
- Great notes on matching here
- Todd, Petra, “A Practical Guide to Implementing Matching Estimators,” Unpublished notes, 1999. [link]
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Handout
Due
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10
3/26
Consultations
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Student consultations in lieu of class
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11
4/2
Matching 2
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Read
- Causal Mixtape, Chapter 10.1 (Introducing the Comparative Case Study)
- Abadie, Diamond and Hainmuller, “ Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program,” Journal of the American Statistical Association, 2012. [link]
- Supplemental
- Method overview: Abadie, Alberto, “Using Synthetic Controls: Feasibility, Data Requirements, and Methodological Aspects”, Journal of Economic Literature, 2021. [link]
- Method critique: Kuosmanen et al, “Synthetic Control Methods: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Working paper 2022. [link]
- Abadie, Diamond and Hainmueller, “Comparative Politics and the Synthetic Control Method,” American Journal of Political Science, 2015.[link]
- Pac et al, “Paid Family Leave and Breastfeeding: Evidence from California”, NBER Working Paper 25784, 2019.[link]
- Brazil, Noli, “Large-Scale Urban Riots and Residential Segregation: A Case Study of the 1960s U.S. Riots” Demography, 2016. [link]
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Handout
- Presentation instructions
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12
4/9
Workshop
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Up for suggestions for first half of class
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13
4/16
Presentations
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Presenters: See [link]
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14
4/23
Presentations
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Presenters: See [link]
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.
4/28
5 pm
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Paper done! Have a good summer.
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Due
- replication paper, by 5 pm
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