Undergraduate Econometrics Instruction: Through Our Classes, Darkly

28 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2017

See all articles by Joshua D. Angrist

Joshua D. Angrist

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Jörn-Steffen Pischke

London School of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Abstract

The past half‐century has seen economic research become increasingly empirical, while the nature of empirical economic research has also changed. In the 1960s and 1970s, an empirical economist's typical mission was to "explain" economic variables like wages or GDP growth. Applied econometrics has since evolved to prioritize the estimation of specific causal effects and empirical policy analysis over general models of outcome determination. Yet econometric instruction remains mostly abstract, focusing on the search for "true models" and technical concerns associated with classical regression assumptions. Questions of research design and causality still take a back seat in the classroom, in spite of having risen to the top of the modern empirical agenda. This essay traces the divergent development of econometric teaching and empirical practice, arguing for a pedagogical paradigm shift.

Keywords: econometrics, teaching

JEL Classification: A22

Suggested Citation

Angrist, Joshua and Pischke, Jörn-Steffen (Steve), Undergraduate Econometrics Instruction: Through Our Classes, Darkly. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10535, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2911473 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2911473

Joshua Angrist (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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Jörn-Steffen (Steve) Pischke

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Germany

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