Stata for Statistical Methods for Economics
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Stata for Statistical Methods for Economics
1. Overview
This course features one required project that is due in Week 10, and three optional projects that are due throughout the term. All projects must be completed through the use of the statistical software Stata. Before attempting any of these projects, you should read this document and watch all of the associated instructional videos. More detailed Stata instructions will be provided along with the project guidelines.
Stata is heavily integrated into the third-year economics curriculum, and we are going to re- introduce it to you at a more formal level at the start of next year. However, we believe that it is useful to give you some initial exposure to Stata in your second year too. Note that Stata questions will not appear on any exams in Statistical Methods for Economics.
If you have any questions about Stata, you can come to the weekly help desk, attend office hours, or post your questions to the “stata_projects” folder on Piazza.
2. Accessing Stata
Please follow the instructions provided in this folder. If you are having any difficulty accessing Stata, emaileconomics.support@ed.ac.ukorEconomics.Prehonours@ed.ac.uk.
3. The Basics of Stata
There are plenty of great resources on the internet that can help you to learn Stata. For example, a large number of short video tutorials can be foundhere. We have identified a few instructional videos that will help to get you started. These instructional videos are not long, and they are not comprehensive by any means, but they will give you a few examples of how you can interact with Stata. Before attempting any of the projects, you must watch all of the videos listed below (from both lists).
Specific instructions for carrying out the necessary tasks will be provide along with the project guidelines. If you would like to play around with Stata a bit on your own, you can access a number of example datasets that come with each download. Also make use of the -help- command in Stata to find out more about specific commands.
Note that there are a few different ways to interact with Stata. When you are just starting out, it is the easiest to simply use the menu system. But as you become more familiar with Stata’s command syntax, it is good practice to use the Do-file editor. The Do-file editor allows you to quickly replicate your work, share your code with others, and to easily spot errors.
Stata Introduction 1 (Stanford University)1
2. Opening and Importing Files
3. Renaming and Labelling Variables
Stata Introduction 2 (Stata Corporation)
4. Bar Graphs
Students who wish to expand their knowledge of Stata even further are encouraged to do so. There are plenty of great resources online that you can refer to. For example, a repository of instructional resources can be foundhere.
Importantly, knowing how to use Stata does not mean you have learned how to do every possible command – rather it is knowing how to teach yourself new commands when you come across a new problem in your work. Even well-trained economists are often faced with new problems that they do not know how to make work in Stata – but with time we learn how to use the -help- function, the Stata manuals, and a careful Google search to find out how.
4. Other Software
Historically, Stata has been the statistical software of choice of academic economists. Stata has many advantages and this what we teach you in the economics curriculum. Other programmes are not taught as part of the core curriculum, but there are plenty on online resources that you can refer to on your own. For example, I would recommend the following sources:
Introduction to Econometrics with R(Note that this book also covers many of the topics we cover in the course)
2023-04-04