THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE Faculty of Social Sciences DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS Course Outline COURSE TITLE: METHODS OF ECONOMIC INVESTIGATION COURSE CODE: ECON 6003 LEVEL: Graduate SEMESTER: 1 NO. OF CREDITS: 3 PRE-REQUISITE(S): COURSE DESCRIPTION/RATIONALE ECON 6003 consists of two modules, the aim of which is to provide students with the theoretical, practical and technical foundations for undertaking survey-based data-driven research that addresses social and economic problems. The course seeks to impart an appreciation for a seamless process in the conduct of economic research; from inception and data gathering design through to econometric modeling and estimation. The focus of Module 1 is on survey research. Module 2 is based in microeconometrics. CONTENT MODULE 1: SURVEY RESEARCH AND SURVEY SAMPLING Lecturer: Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard Objectives 1. To create appreciation of the importance of the philosophy of science in the context of research designs. 2. To raise an awareness of the importance of ethical considerations in research processes and reinforce adherence to such standards 3. To enable students to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research ECON6003_CO Page 1 of 7
designs and have an appreciation for their relevance and utility in addressing the requirements of research problems 4. To reinforce the logic of experimentation and the relevance of experimental designs in the analysis of economic problems 5. To empower students in their quest to undertake survey research focusing on the analysis of economic problems and facilitating economic decision-making. 6. To introduce students to the elements of survey sampling, its rationale, its applications and issues surrounding the interpretation of results. Content Topic 1: Topic 2: Topic 3: Topic 4: Topic 5: Topic 6: Topic 7: Topic 8: Topic 9: The Nature and Essence of Research as a Process Qualitative versus Quantitative Research Traditions Research Design and Options associated with Qualitative and Quantitative Traditions Conceptualization and Measurement Issues and Challenges in Experimentation Issues and Challenges in Data Collection in Survey Research Survey Sampling: Concepts, Design and Estimation Data Preparation and Evaluation of Quality Ethical Issues, Proposal and Report Writing Main Texts Babbie, Earl (2001) The Practice of Social Research, Eleventh Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Company Berg, Bruce, L (1998) Quanlitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences Third Edition, Allyn and Bacon Bernard, H. Russell (2000) Social Research Methods Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, Sage Publications Inc. Bryman, Alan (1988) Quantity and Quality in Social Research, Routledge Creswell, John, W (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Choosing Among Five Traditions, Sage Publications Patton,Michael Quinn (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, Second Edition, Sage Publications ECON6003_CO Page 2 of 7
Saunders, Mark, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill (2003) Research Methods for Business Students, Third Edition, Prentice Hall Supplementary Texts Bryman, Alan and Duncan Cramer (1999) Quantitative Data Analysis A Guide for Social Scientists, Routledge Miller, Delbert, C and Neil J. Salkind (editors) (2002) Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement, Sixth Edition, Sage Publications (Chapter by John Creswell and Raymond Maietta) Neuman, W. Lawrence (1997) Social Research Methods, Third Edition, Allyn and Bacon Shively, W. Phillips (1980) The Craft of Political Research, Second Edition, Prentice Hall Singleton, Royce, A, Bruce C. Straits and Margaret Miller Straits (1993) Approaches to Social Research, Second Edition, Oxford University Press Sommer, Barbara and Robert Sommer (1997) A Practical Guide to Behavioural Research: Tools and Techniques - Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press Welch, Susan and John Cramer (2001) Quantitative Methods for Public Administration: Techniques and Applications, 3 rd Edition, Harcourt Inc. Note: Additional articles and other reading material may be recommended Readings Topic 1: Topic 2: Topic 3: Topic 4: The Nature and Essence of Research as a Process Readings - Bernard: Chapters 1 and 3; Babbie: Chapters 1 to 3 Qualitative versus Quantitative Research Traditions Readings Bernard: Chapter 11, Creswell: Chapter 4 and Bryman: Chapters 2 and 3; Berg: Chapter 1 Research Design and Options associated with Qualitative and Quantitative Traditions Readings - Bernard: Chapter 2; Babbie: Chapters 4 and 5; Creswell: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3; Berg: Chapter 2 Conceptualization and Measurement ECON6003_CO Page 3 of 7
Readings - Babbie: Chapters on Conceptualization and Measurement and Operationalization Topic 5: Topic 6: Issues and Challenges: Experimentation Readings - Bernard: Chapters 4; Babbie: Chapters 8 and 9 Issues and Challenges: Data Collection Issues in Survey Research Readings Bernard: Chapters 6-8; Babbie: Chapters 6, 7, 10 and 11 Topic 7: Survey Sampling: Concepts, Design and Estimation Readings Bernard: Chapters 5; See Readings below Topic 8: Topic 9: Data Preparation and Evaluation of Quality Readings Singleton et al: Chapter 14, Babbie: Chapter 14 Quantifying Data Ethical Issues, Proposal and Report Writing Readings - Babbie: Chapter 18 and Appendix C; Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill: Chapters 2 (Section 2.5), 5 and 13 Topic 7 Readings: Babbie, Earl (2001) The Practice of Social Research, Eleventh Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Company (Chapter 7 The Logic of Sampling) Kalton, Graham (1983) Introduction to Survey Sampling, Sage Publication Kish, Leslie (1965) Survey Sampling, John Wiley and Sons Lansing, John, B and James N. Morgan (1971) Economic Survey Methods, Survey Research Centre, University of Michigan (Chapter 3) Moser C. A. (1971) Survey Methods in Social Investigation, Second Edition, Heinmann Educational Books (Chapters 4-8) Neuman, W. Lawrence (1997) Social Research Methods, Third Edition, Allyn and Bacon (Chapter 9) Rossi, Peter, James D. Wright and Andy B. Anderson (1983) Handbook of Survey Research, Academic Press (Chapters 2 and 5) ECON6003_CO Page 4 of 7
Singleton, Royce A., Bruce C. Straits and Margaret Miller Straits (1993) Approaches to Social Research, Second Edition, Oxford University Press (Chapter 6) Stuart, Alan (1984) The Ideas of Sampling, Charles Griffin and Company Ltd. Levy, Paul S and Stanley Lemeshow (1991) Sampling of Populations: Methods and Applications, John Wiley and Sons (Selected Parts + Chapters 15 and 16) Lohr, Sharon L (1999) Sampling: Design and Analysis, Duxbury Press (Selected Parts) Macro International (1996) Sampling Manual, Demographic and Health Surveys (Selected Parts) MODULE 2: MICROECONOMETRIC MODELS AND METHODS Lecturer: Dr. Ewan Scott Objectives This module will provide graduate students with a sound foundation in the application of advanced statistical methods to problems in microeconomics. As such, it will build on the students knowledge of probability and distribution theory and basic econometrics. Students are expected to have some basic competence with some econometric/statistical software packages such as Eviews, SPSS or TSP. Recommended Texts Greene, William H. 1997. Econometric Analysis. 3 rd Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice- Hall Inc. Maddala, G. 1983. Limited Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. New York: Cambridge University Press. Amemiya, Takeshi 1985. Advanced Econometrics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Note: Reading packs for this module are available in the Lecturer s Box, Library. Syllabus: Week 1: Review 1. Probability and Distribution Theory 2. Basic Econometric Theory Greene, chpt. 3,4,6; Any good Introductory Statistics/Econometric text ECON6003_CO Page 5 of 7
Week 2, 3: Models with Discrete Dependent Variables 1. Introduction: Discrete Choice Models 2. Estimation and Inference in Binary Choice Models 3. Multiple Choice Models Greene, chpt. 19; Maddala, chpt. 2 Week 4, 5: Limited Dependent Variable Models 1. Introduction 2. Truncated Regression Models 3. Censored Regression Models 4. Sample Selection Greene, chpt. 20; Maddala, chpt. 6 Week 6, 7: Estimation of Demand and Production Functions 1. Demand Systems Functional forms and Estimation 2. Production Functions - Functional forms and Estimation 3. Flexible functional forms Deaton, Angus. Demand Analysis in Handbook of Econometrics, Vol.3. Z. Griliches and M.D. Intriligator, eds. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1986. Deaton, A. and J. Muellbauer An Almost Ideal Demand System American Economic Review 70 (1980): Buse, Adolf. Evaluating the Linearized Almost Ideal Demand System American Journal of Agricultural Economics 70 (1994): 781-793. Hahn, W. Elasticities in AIDS Models: Comment. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 76 (1994): 972-997 Ching, C.T.K. and John F. Yanagida. 1985. Production Economics: Mathematical Development and Applications Transaction Books, Inc., New Brunswick, New Jersey. Fuss, M. and D. McFadden (editors). 1979. Production Economics: A dual Approach to Theory and Applications. Vol. 1 North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam ASSESSMENT Coursework // Final Exam :: 25% // 75% ECON6003_CO Page 6 of 7
Overall assessment of the course will be split evenly between the 2 modules. Coursework assessment for Module 1 will be on the basis of in-class group presentations worth 13% of the overall course assessment. Groups shall consist of a maximum of three persons though in exceptional cases, individuals can present subject to the approval of the lecturer. All members of the group are awarded the score obtained by the group. The coursework for Module 2 will account for 12% of the overall course assessment and will take the form of assignments requiring the use of Eviews or another software package. The final exam will be 3 hours in duration and usually requires completion of 4 equally valued questions, two from each module. Dates/Events to Note 1. Post Budget Forum 2010 which is scheduled for the first Thursday (16 th September 2010) after the presentation of the National Budget for 2010-11 in the Parliament. 2. Conference on the Economy (COTE2010) on October 07 09, 2010. ECON6003_CO Page 7 of 7