Economics 399—SENIOR SEMINAR IN ECONOMICS—Winter 2003
Profs. Abdih, Casey, Gignesi, and Goldsmith
References: Texts for Intermediate Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics
Recommended: Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Week, etc.
The Senior Seminar, the capstone course for the economics major, allows us to tie together a number of themes that are central to the discipline of economics. A general aim of this course is to integrate the various elements of the major in a way that allows seniors to leave W&L with a clear understanding of the discipline. Through your theory and statistics courses you have learned about the analytical tools of economics. And, as you have seen in other courses, economists use these analytical tools to generate knowledge about many specific kinds of microeconomic behavior as well as the performance of the economy in the aggregate. Moreover, many such analyses imply recommendations for public policy. This course will (1) provide you with examples of economic analyses by professional economists and (2) will require you to carry out an analysis of an economic issue of your own choosing where any policy implications that flow from your analysis should be fully addressed.
The major element of this course is your research project. It is critical that you choose a topic quickly and then make substantive progress with your research. To facilitate this process, a number sessions reviewing the basic tools of economic analysis will be offered to the class as a whole as the term begins. At the appropriate times, the four sections of the class will meet separately. These sessions will function as seminars. At various stages of your research, each student will be asked both to report on their own progress in these sessions as well comment on the research of other students in the section. This will allow you to receive regular feedback on your work from your peers. You will also receive feedback from your section leader on written work you will be required to submit at several points during the term. Thus, you should view your research a “work in progress” over the entire term.
Note that a number of class periods will be devoted to individual consultations with your section leader. However, you are encouraged to seek the advise of other members of the economics department; you should particularly seek advise from those who have the greatest expertise on the topic you have chosen.
During the term, both W&L faculty and guest speakers will make presentations to the whole class. These presentations will both be useful and informative and will provide you with examples of how economists present their work. During the last week of the term you will be asked to make a public poster presentation of your research results (more details to come).
In summary, your responsibilities for this course include a substantive paper documenting your research on a topic of your own choosing, a presentation of your research, participation in class discussion***, and attendance.
***PREPARATION FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS
100 Word Abstracts: What is this all about?
Throughout the term articles will be assigned that will be the focus of a subsequent discussion in the four sections of Economics 399. Students will be required to turn in--at the beginning of the class the article will be discussed--a 100 word abstract based on their reading (lots of reflection and a bit of writing). Abstracts must: (1) identify the question or issue being explored in the article, (2) the author’s hypothesis and if they have a view on the validity of the hypothesis if they express one, and (3) a brief summary of the evidence they bring to bear on the hypothesis and whether it is consistent with the hypothesis--if they discuss evidence. Please, do not describe the article--question, hypothesis, and findings!
READING POLICY
Students are expected to read the assigned materials for section discussions. Discussion is contingent upon preparation by all of the stakeholders in the educational process--faculty and students. The faculty assigned to each of the capstone sections read the articles and they gather for a few hours to discuss the article and how to best foster an enlightening discussion. It is the responsibility of all of us to be prepared to participate and learn together. Hence, if you have not read the assigned material you should not attend the discussion section. If you attend class and it is apparent that you have not read the material--you will be required to meet with the Department Head to remain enrolled in the course.
At the beginning of each discussion section an attendance sheet will be passed around for students to sign. If you must miss a meeting of the section, you must notify your section leader in advance and offer an explanation for your expected absence. If you miss a second section meeting, you will asked to visit your section leader for a discussion regarding your contribution to the groups learning. If you miss more than 2 section meetings you will asked to meet with the Head of the Economics Department.
The Capstone Course is designed to maximize interaction between faculty and students--the hallmark of a W&L education. This should be great fun and a provocative intellectual journey. Let the fun begin!!
Schedule:
January 7 (Tuesday)
Everyone
Research Seminar Presentation:
Erica Field (Princeton University): http://www.princeton.edu/~emfield/Fieldjmp.pdf
January 14 (Tuesday)
Everyone
Course Overview
Examples of Research Questions: General Motivation & Specific Question
Assignment: Reading # 1 The Atlantic | October 2002 | The Roaring Nineties | Stiglitz
January 16 (Thursday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #1
Assignment: Reading # 2: JSTOR: Journal of Economic Perspectives: Vol. 12, No. 2, p. [101],
JSTOR: Journal of Economic Perspectives: Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 63
(Be sure to read both articles)
January 21 (Tuesday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #2
Assignment: Reading # 3: Poverty Reduction and Economic Growth
January 23 (Thursday)
Everyone
Research Seminar Presentation: Art Goldsmith tentative
January 28 (Tuesday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
You should provide your section leader with your research question and a draft of your literature review. Moreover, you should have ideas about what type of formal economic model (i.e., supply and demand, indifference curve and budget constraint, …) you intend to use to generate insights and hypotheses.
See the Department Head if you are falling behind (unable to turn in these documents)
January 30 (Thursday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
February 4 (Tuesday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #3
Assignment: Reading # 4 Reconceptualizing Human Capital
February 6 (Thursday)
Everyone
Research Seminar Presentation: Professor Yasser Abdih "Economic Growth"
February 11 (Tuesday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
You should provide your section leader with a complete literature review. In addition, you should bring your section leader the formal model that you are using to analyze your research question along with your analysis using that model (i.e., the comparative statics analysis--your analysis of how a change in a key exogenous variable influences your dependent variable. Finally, you should begin thinking about the data you will need to evaluate to bring evidence to bear on your fundamental hypothesis.
See the Department Head if you are falling behind (unable to turn in these documents)
February 13 (Thursday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
February 17-21 (Break)
February 25 (Tuesday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #4
Assignment: Reading #5 http://www.rff.org/issue_briefs/PDF_files/ccbrf1rev.pdf
February 27 (Thursday)
Everyone
Regression Analysis Overview - Capstone_Reg_Rev.doc
March 4 (Tuesday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
You should provide your section leader with background the empirical model you intend to estimate to examine your fundamanal hypothesis. In addition, you must provide information on how you will measure each of the variables in your empirical model, and information on where you will acquire the relevant data.
See the Department Head if you are falling behind (unable to turn in these documents)
March 6 (Thursday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
March 11 (Tuesday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #5
Assignment: Handout Reading #6 - are your wages set in Beijing?
March 13 (Thursday)
Everyone
Research Seminar Presentation: Professor James R. Kahn - http://home.wlu.edu/~kahnj/INTR_110/CO2tax2.doc
March 18 (Tuesday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
March 20 (Thursday)
Sign up for your time slot in advance!! -- sheets on office doors.
You should provide your section leader with your empirical analysis, and your interpretation of what your empirical results reveal about the hypotheses you are examining. You should provide a draft of the implications section of your paper and a draft of the conclusion of your paper.
See the Department Head if you are falling behind (unable to turn in these documents)
March 25 (Tuesday)
Sections
Discuss Reading #6
Everyone
Research Seminar Presentation: Mike Anderson - How Wide is the Border?
April 2 Wednesday
Poster board Presentations
April 3 (3:30, Science Center, A-214) - Anne Case:
April 25 (3:30, Science Center, A-214) Gary_Fields
DATA FILES:
AN EXCELLENT PAPER TO USE AS A MODEL FOR YOUR OWN WORK:
http://home.wlu.edu/~blackmerh/restrict/casey1.pdf