EC348: Research in Policy Evaluation
Subhasish Dey
Module Leader
Bhaskar Chakravorty
Module Lecturer
Principal Aims
This is a research-led module and will give students an insight into how economists evaluate policy implementation. The module begins with a review of the evaluation problem and discusses methods that are used to evaluate the outcomes of various interventions. The substantive portion of the module will take a series of recent research papers which are evaluating a policy that has been implemented and explain how the authors used appropriate statistical techniques in order evaluate the policy.
Principal Learning Outcomes
Understand published empirical papers focused on policy evaluation.
Demonstrate the ability to appreciate and implement empirical research using suitable techniques.
Have developed the skills needed to understand, conduct and present empirical research related to policy evaluation.
Syllabus
Week 1 (2 hours Lecture)
Topic: Introduction to the evaluation problem.
Objective: This session will discuss the need for monitoring and evaluation, key concepts of monitoring and evaluation (causality, identification problems, selection on observable and unobservable characteristics), various elements that comprise a sound impact evaluation, data collection strategies, difficulties and limitations.
Week 2-10 (18 hours total)
Topic: Identifying the impact of an intervention
Objective: Within these eight weeks the lectures will take recent policy evaluation research papers and discuss the approach the papers took in order to evaluate the impact of the policy intervention and discuss the relative merits of alternative approaches. The approaches used for policy evaluation will include instrumental variables, differences-in-differences, matching methods, regression discontinuity design, synthetic control methods and randomized control trials, endogenous switching regression models, heterogeneous treatment effect models, Quantile Treatment Effect and event studies.
Students will also be taught to how to implement some of these procedures within appropriate statistical packages, such as STATA.
Context
- Optional Module
- R1L4 - Year 4, R2L4 - Year 4, R3L4 - Year 4, R4L1 - Year 4, GL11 - Year 3, GL12 - Year 4, V7MM - Year 4, V7ML - Year 3, V7ML - Year 4, L1CA - Year 3, - Year 3, L1CB - Year 4
- Pre or Co-requisites
EC203-30 Applied Econometrics OR
EC226-30 Econometrics 1
Summary:Modules: EC203-30 or EC226-30
- Restrictions
- May not be combined with modules PO22Q-15
Assessment
- Assessment Method
- Coursework (40%) + Summer Exam (60%)
- Coursework Details
- Assessment 1: Reproducing results (20%) , Assessment 2: Policy Evaluation Report (20%) , Summer Exam (60%)
- Exam Timing
- Summer
Exam Rubric
Time Allowed: 2 Hours
Exam Type: Open Book Examination
Read all instructions carefully - and read through the entire paper at least once before you start entering your answers.
There are TWO sections in this paper. Answer FOUR questions in Section A (10 marks each) and THREE questions in Section B (20 marks each).
Answer each whole question in a separate booklet.
Approved scientific (non-graphical) pocket calculators are allowed.
You should not submit answers to more than the required number of questions. If you do, we will mark the questions in the order that they appear, up to the required number of questions in each section.
Previous exam papers can be found in the University’s past papers archive. Please note that previous exam papers may not have operated under the same exam rubric or assessment weightings as those for the current academic year. The content of past papers may also be different.