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Research Project

Econometrics 265

ECON 265

Spring 2022

This file contains the instructions for carrying out your research project. Please read it carefully, especially before submitting any of the required work specified below. Your assignment is to carry out an econometric study based on single-equation multiple regression analysis.  You need to  select a research question with one or more testable hypotheses from a list of4  topics given below, formulate an econometric model, select data from the data posted on Moodle, estimate the model using STATA software, interpret the results, and communicate the study results by means of a PowerPoint presentation on Moodle and a carefully written research paper.


Topics: Impact of Covid-19 on employment/unemployment

Impact of Covid-19 on household credit/debit spending

Impact of Covid-19 on businesses (revenue, open)

Impact of Covid-19 on mobility


There are several steps to follow to get your research project done.

1. Proposal. You must submit a one-page statement of your research question and plan no later than February 18. The topics to choose from are listed above. The data set containing data about Covid-19 related variables and some demographic data by county is posted on Moodle. Please check the variables available from the data set for your project. You must read and submit at least one published empirical study in the topic of your choice.


Read Chapter 19 (Carrying Out an Empirical Project) from textbook.


Here is a link to some Working Papers on Pandemic-Related Research from National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): https://www.nber.org/wp_covid19_09072020.html


Here is a list of some periodicals that may be used for this assignment to find studies on your topic:

American Economist, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, American Political Science Review, Economic Journal, Journal of Economics, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Public Choice, Quarterly Review of Economics and business, Review of Social Economy, and Southern Economic Journal. Other top journals may be used (such as American Economic Review) but usually are too advanced to be helpful in this assignment.

As you look for articles to do your literature review, keep the following considerations in mind.  Econometric studies are carried out at all levels of sophistication and complexity and are based on a wide range of data sources.  Be realistic. Look for studies that are within your reach in terms of the modeling and econometric analysis.  Older studies tend to be simpler.  Don’t hesitate to look at articles published during the 1970s and early 1980s.  Remember that the assignment requires a single-equation model as distinct from a simultaneous-equations model.  Hence, your selected article should use ordinary least squares, not two-stage least squares estimation.  Concerning data, you will select the counties from the states I will assign you from the major data set mentioned above available on Moodle on the General Course Files section. Use only cross-sectional data rather than time series data, because autocorrelation (an important econometric concern when using time-series data) is covered only at the end of the course.  The TA will give you instructions on how to select the variables and counties you will work on as well as the date(s) you will be using. You must select only two dates.


2. Literature Review. The following step is to write a summary or review of the literature. You should have two or more references in the topic you have selected so that you can apply economic theory to your own question(s). Read the articles, make a summary and write how you think these papers relate to your topic and whether they may indicate what type of results you should expect to get in your own research. Upload on Moodle the word file with the literature review and the Pdf copies of the reference articles you are using. The deadline is March 11.


3. Data Set. Upload the Data Set on Moodle. Make sure it is a cross-sectional data (only two dates, not time series). It should be in STATA format. Deadline is March 25. It should contain the variable(s) that you are going to test your hypotheses (Covid and your choice variable) and additional variables available on the data set or from an outside source. It should contain the states assigned to you and two time periods. The time periods should be two specific days preferably one early in the pandemic (March) and the other later (November, or December 2020). Make sure that there are enough observations for the variables chosen on these days. You should not have more than two days.

4. Regressions. Do the econometrics.  If you are following the work in the course it should be the easy part of the project, even though it may take some time if you are using a lot of data.  When you get your results, think about what they mean.  Look at the signs and magnitudes of the estimated parameters; pay attention to and use correctly the relevant regression statistics.  Explicitly connect your regression results with your research question and hypotheses.  Correctly conduct your formal hypothesis test(s). You must use dummy variables to compare the two time periods for changes in the impact of Covid on your main variable. This means an intercept change and a slope change. We will discuss how to do this on chapter 7. You may also choose one (or two) of the states assigned to you to compare this state and all the others in your sample in terms of intercept and slope differences related to the Covid variable.


5. PowerPoint Presentation. During the last week of the semester you need to present your results to obtain feedback from your fellow students. It should be a PowerPoint presentation with your main question, model, brief description of the data (Table) and a Table with some regression results generated by Stata. You should have at least 4 regressions on the table. Use the comments received in the presentation to update your project before submitting the final version of your project. If necessary, you may run some additional regressions. Upload your PowerPoint slides on Moodle by April 26.


6. Discussion of other student’s presentations. By Wednesday, April 27, you need to post on Moodle comments and suggestions for improvement on three of other student’s PowerPoint presentations. Use the comments and suggestions given by other students on your own PowerPoint presentation to improve your final paper.

7. Final Paper. Present your research in a carefully written paper. It should be typed and double spaced paper.  In a general way it should have a title page, introduction, including a clear statement of the research question, motivation, review of previous research (include here the literature review that you submitted earlier edited for comparing to your results); model, variables, data sources; results and analysis; and conclusion. All your regression results must be presented on a table, not Stata output. Use language that is understandable to you and your reader – someone with a basic understanding of econometrics.  It should be around 10 to 15 pages. Upload your paper in Word format on Moodle by May 4. You must submit the paper in Word format, a Pdf file with your STATA output.  You also must post on Moodle the final data set used in STATA format.  The STATA output should not be part of the paper, rather a way for me to check the results you have. All the regression results that you want to present must be in the text in a table.


Academic Integrity:

[**language taken from Academic Advising website]

“Academic integrity is a basic value for all higher learning.  Simply expressed, it requires that work presented must be wholly one's own and unique to that course. All direct quotations must be identified by source.  Academic integrity can be violated in many ways: for example, by submitting someone else's paper as one's own; cheating on an exam; submitting one paper to more than one class; copying a computer program; altering data in an experiment; or quoting published material without proper citation of references or sources.  Attempts to alter an official academic record will also be treated as violations of academic integrity.

To ensure academic integrity and safeguard students' rights, all suspected violations of academic integrity are reported to the College Board.  Such reports must be carefully documented, and students accused of the infraction are notified of the charge.  In the case of proven academic dishonesty, the student will receive a sanction, which may range from an F in the assignment or course to suspension or expulsion from the University.”

The complete academic integrity policy is available with Academic Advising at https://web.clarku.edu/policies/detailpolicy.cfm?pid=43