Introductory Econometrics

The news for Introductory Econometrics can be found on the German page of the course. The slides for the course Introductory Econometrics by Prof. Tschernig can be found here.

Aim of the Course

A quantitative economic analysis typically exhibits some degree of uncertainty. Econometric methods allow to test and to quantify economic relationships based on data and to quantify the extent of uncertainty underlying the empirical analysis. In this course students become familiar with the basic econometric tools and the relevant econometric theory. After attending the course Introductory Econometrics students should be able to

• independently carry out simple empirical studies using econometric tools,
• be able to study more advanced econometric methods in courses or textbooks,
• recognize when they should seek help of an advanced econometrician,
• recognize flawed econometric studies and their consequences.

Course Contents

The emphasis of the course Introductory Econometrics is on the analysis of cross-section data (data that are collected within one period of different units).

Studied theory and methods include:

• the multiple linear regression model and the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator,
• statistical properties of the OLS estimator in finite and large samples,
• methods for model selection and functional form and consequences of misspecified models,
• hypothesis tests (t-tests, F-tests),
• confidence intervals,
• prediction and prediction intervals,
• heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors and tests for heteroskedasdicity,
• generalized least squares methods (GLS) and feasible GLS,
• diagnostic tools,
• model interpretation.

An important part of the course is that students apply the econometric methods to a number of empirical problems. Some examples are the quantification of the influencing factors of trade, wages, rents, real estate prices, or manager salaries. For this purpose the software EViews is used.

Literature 

Wooldridge, J.M. (2009). Introductory Econometrics. A Modern Approach, 4. edition, Thomson South-Western (Chapters 1-4 and 6-8). 

Audience / Qualification 

This course is for bachelor students in the 1st study phase and is compulsory for students of economics. 

Grading System 

The grading system can be found on the German page of the course.

The slides for the course Introductory Econometrics by Prof. Tschernig can be found here.

The schedule can be found on the German page of the course.