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Undergraduate Econometrics Instruction: Through Our Classes, Darkly

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Listed:
  • Angrist, Joshua

    (MIT)

  • Pischke, Jörn-Steffen

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

The past half-century has seen economic research become increasingly empirical, while the nature of empirical economic research has also changed. In the 1960s and 1970s, an empirical economist's typical mission was to "explain" economic variables like wages or GDP growth. Applied econometrics has since evolved to prioritize the estimation of specific causal effects and empirical policy analysis over general models of outcome determination. Yet econometric instruction remains mostly abstract, focusing on the search for "true models" and technical concerns associated with classical regression assumptions. Questions of research design and causality still take a back seat in the classroom, in spite of having risen to the top of the modern empirical agenda. This essay traces the divergent development of econometric teaching and empirical practice, arguing for a pedagogical paradigm shift.

Suggested Citation

  • Angrist, Joshua & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen, 2017. "Undergraduate Econometrics Instruction: Through Our Classes, Darkly," IZA Discussion Papers 10535, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10535
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    econometrics; teaching;

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate

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