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Single discipline educational activity
Course Sheet Academic Year of enrolment:
Professor and Collaborators:
Hours of classroom activity:
Prerequisites:
Basic microeconomics. Knowledge of basic statistical and econometric methods is desirable but not strictly necessary.
Objectives Contents The course aims to provide students with some basic instruments to analyze the behavior and choices of economic agents and the respective societal outcomes.
Part of the course will be spent in laboratory, where student will have a chance to learn using Stata (statistical software package). They will acquire basic skills for managing microdata and will get familiar with some of existing datasets and empirical methods.
The course envisages reading groups and class discussion of research papers and oral presentations. Topics may vary from year to year.
Extended Syllabus The theoretical part will be focused on social interactions with a view to understand how economic life is organize within the context of market economy. Particular attention will be paid to failures of coordination and institutional adjustments. We will study the role of preferences and individual behavior, their evolution following the development of institutional frameworks.
The empirical part of the course instead is organized around studying some examples of individual choices and their consequences. Selected issues include educational choices and returns to education, intergenerational mobility; labour supply, inequality, discrimination; innovation; fertility and aging; use of mass media and the effects on political outcomes.
Recommended Bibliography Bowles, S. (2003) Microeconomics. Behavior, Istitutions, and Evolution.
Hashimzade, N. and Thornton, M.A. (2021) Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Empirical Microeconomics.
The materials will be offered on a regular basis, comprising selected chapters of the reference textbooks and research papers to be studied, in addition to lecture notes.
Methods of Provision Teaching Methods Lectures, reading groups and oral presentations. Activities in laboratory using Stata.
Evaluation methods Verification of learning:
Written exam is envisaged of the duration of one hour and a half.
For regularly attending students there is an option of writing a research paper on a topic agreed in advance with the teacher. It will then have to be discussed orally during the exam. The final evaluation will consider the use of data and methods studied during the course.
Contacts/More Information Attending classes is not strictly required but is highly recommended.
Office hours: Thursday, 11:00-12:00, or by appointment via email.
