Students in this course will learn basic econometric theory and practice. Emphasis will be on learning to do practical yet careful analysis of economic data.
Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. Introductory Econometrics, fourth edition. South-Western, 2009. All previous editions are also acceptable.
The statistical package we will be using in this class is R. R is free software and is available for almost all operating systems. It is installed in almost all campus labs. You can download and install R at http://www.r-project.org/. SFU also has a license for a commercial version of R called S-Plus. S-Plus is more user-friendly than R, but is not available for the Mac (at least under our license). It is also installed in most campus labs. You can download and install S-Plus at http://www.sfu.ca/itservices/technical/software.html.
Monday 10:30-12:20, WMC 3531.
Wednesday 10:30-1:20, WMC 2506.
Class time is divided between lecture and directed computer work as needed. Attendance is not included in the grading scheme, but I expect you to attend every class.
Monday 12:30-2:30 and by appointment, WMC 1664.
Assignments are posted on the course web site, and are due at the beginning of class on the specified due date. You will also be asked to send me your computer files by WebCT.
Assignments are graded on a pass/fail basis. I'll discuss the details in class, but this approach is based on two principles: you need some incentive to do the assignment but my teaching time is better spent helping you with your papers than checking your assignment answers. You are expected to check your answers against the answer key on your own, and to talk with me if the answer key is unclear. I sometimes put homework questions on the exams to incentivize this behavior.
Because I recycle assignment questions from previous years, it is easy to cheat on assignments by using old answer keys. However, doing so is an act of academic dishonesty and will be treated as such.
The midterm exam will be on Monday, October 17 from 10:30-12:20, in class. The final exam.will be on Wednesday, December 14 from noon to 3:00, location to be announced. You will be allowed to bring a calculator and one (8.5x11 or A4) page of notes, with writing on both sides, to each exam.
The term paper is discussed at http://www.sfu.ca/~bkrauth/econ435/paper.htm. It is due on the last day of classes (Monday, December 5), and accounts for 40% of your grade.
Your grade in the course will be determined by performance on assignments (20%), the two exams (20% each), and the term paper (40%).
Brian Krauth
Department of Economics
1664 West Mall
Telephone: (778) 782-4438
Email: bkrauth (at sfu.ca)
The course website is at http://www.sfu.ca/~bkrauth/econ435/welcome.htm. The website includes announcements, assignments, answer keys, and other important information.
Announcements will also be sent to the course email list.
All students are expected to know and follow SFU's Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct (available online at http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html).
I believe in treating my upper-division students as the adults they are. This approach sometimes provides opportunities for dishonest students to cheat with a low probability of getting caught. But it also means that it doesn't bother me in the least when students that are caught face adult consequences.