
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Economics of Climate Change
When:
25 August - 29 August 2025
Credits:
3.0 EC
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Economics & Social Sciences
When:
07 July - 11 July 2025
School:
Tinbergen Institute & Business Data Science Summer School
Institution:
Tinbergen Institute & Business Data Science
City:
Country:
Language:
English
Credits:
3 EC
Fee:
800 EUR
Many policy related empirical questions in economics are answered using detailed individual data and require analyzing individual behavior. This often implies that a causal parameters should be estimated to assess how a public policy affects individual outcomes. In many settings regression models provide correlations which only in special cases have a causal interpretation. In this course we discuss methods dealing with these confounding factors, such as omitted variables, reverse causality, measurement errors and non-random sampling. In particular, we consider limited dependent variable models, instrumental variables estimation and panel data models. We introduce the potential outcomes model, which is the most general model for defining treatment effects such as average treatment effect, average treatment effect on the treated, quantile treatment effects and local average treatment effects. The emphasis of the course is on identification, estimation and interpretation rather than a thorough treatment of the asymptotic properties of the estimators.
During the course applications of the different methods are discussed in the fields of labor economics, public economics, health economics, and the economics of education. Students learn how to assess the intended and unintended welfare effects of public polies that can be inferred from empirical research. For this, they use the framework of “Marginal Value of Public Funds”(MVPF) applied to different policy contexts. This framework does not only provide guidance on the efficiency of policies, but also on equity effects targeted at vulnerable groups on the labor market. We then can think of policies that aim to augment the human capital of individuals or those that aim to provide income certainty.
Bas van der Klaauw (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Pierre Koning (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
The Summer School welcomes master students, PhD students, post-docs as well as practitioners who are interested applied public policy evaluation.
Admission requirements
Students are assumed to be familiar with the basic concepts in econometrics, such as linear regression, instrumental variables, panel data, logit/probit models and hypothesis testing. Preferably, students have followed an introductory course in econometrics at the graduate level, but students who completed a course in statistics or advanced research methods are also considered. Students should be familiar with a statistical package, preferably Stata. Alongside this, students have a background in standard microeconomics.
The key objective of the course is to learn student how to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of public policies in the fields of health, labor and education. After the course students should be able to (i) decide about the appropriate econometric method, (ii) apply this method to data, (iii) properly interpret the estimation results within the institutional context of the public policy that is evaluated and (iv) obtain a broader picture on the current effectiveness and “bang for the buck” of existing public policies.
Fee
800 EUR, PhD and Master Students (Early Bird Fee until April 15, 2025)
Fee
1500 EUR, Academics (incl. postdocs) and Professionals (Early Bird Fee until April 15, 2025)
The course fee covers tuition, course materials, daily lunches and coffee/tea during short breaks, social event including a dinner and farewell drinks. The course fee does not include accommodation.
When:
07 July - 11 July 2025
School:
Tinbergen Institute & Business Data Science Summer School
Institution:
Tinbergen Institute & Business Data Science
Language:
English
Credits:
3 EC
Amsterdam, Netherlands
When:
25 August - 29 August 2025
Credits:
3.0 EC
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Amsterdam, Netherlands
When:
20 July - 27 July 2025
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Barcelona, Spain
When:
30 June - 25 July 2025
Credits:
6.0 EC
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