HFRC Doctroal Course: Empirical Methods and Applications in Archival Data Research

Description

Scholars who work empirically must develop a sound understanding of data, empirical methods, and
the potential flaws that come with applying these methods. This is especially true for research that is
based on archival data, i.e., data that are collected prior to the beginning of the research study (e.g.,
public company data). In this course, participants will improve their knowledge of the main
econometric methods used to analyze archival data and how to apply and assess those methods. The
focus is on endogeneity problems as well as applications and flaws of standard estimation techniques
(e.g., fixed effects) as well as identification strategies (e.g., difference-in-difference and instrumental
variable estimation). Various research papers that apply the main econometric methods or use specific
natural experiments will be analyzed and discussed in class. Participants will also become familiar with
databases and the STATA software. A STATA manual will be provided.