| Unit name | MRes Topics in Structural and Empirical Methods |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ECONM0024 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Turon |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
MRes Macroeconomics, MRes Microeconomics, MRes Econometrics, MRes Mathematical and Research Methods |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
This unit introduces students to research work that applies modern structural and empirical methods, with a focus on labour and urban economics. Labour economics is an extremely active research area in economics. It branches out to a wide range of topics in microeconomics and macroeconomics and uses an equally wide range of econometric tools to describe and understand inequalities in work, earnings and opportunities, the functioning of labour markets, the determinants of human capital and productivity, or the role of policies in shaping all these. Urban economics studies the spatial distribution of economic activity when goods and factors of production are mobile across locations.
This unit will introduce students to some of the key modern topics and questions in labour economics and the relationship between economic and geographical variables. It will link the theory to empirical applications, to develop an understanding of how phenomena individuals, families and firms encounter on their everyday lives can be formulated and interpreted through the lenses of economics or how issues such as the design of cities, of transportation networks, affect economic outcomes such as growth or inequality. It will give students a hands-on approach on how to do research in these areas, demonstrating how to use the methods studied in courses in year 1, further developing techniques that can be broadly applied and combining them with real data to exemplify how empirical research is done in practice. It is an essential unit for those students who want to progress to do a PhD on topics in Labour, Education, Health, Urban or Family Economics.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The units in year 1 in all topics (macro, micro and econometrics) provide the required solid background of theory and methods that is needed to formulate and understand key questions in economics. This unit will show how to build on those foundations to formulate and investigate key questions in labour and urban economics. It will cover topics in empirical structural labour economics, which uses models of economic behaviour to inform the empirical analysis. For instance, it will draw on the dynamic programming theory and estimation methods such as GMM, both studied in year 1 on macro and econometrics courses respectively, to show how can they be used and expanded to study the building up of inequalities over the course of life. This unit will also complement the year 2 unit Topics in Applied Economics, which will be more data-centred in how it addresses related questions.
An overview of content
The unit will cover a range of topics in structural labour economics, with a focus on some of the most topical current questions and the models and methods that have been used to investigate them. It will start with an overview of some of the key questions addressed in the discipline and what evidence we have on them. It will then introduce the canonical static labour supply model and will demonstrate its use for the analysis of tax and benefit policy. Alongside, it will discuss the identification of labour supply and tax elasticities, and the empirical results and controversies in the literature. It will then move to introduce labour supply in a dynamic life-cycle framework. It will demonstrate how to solve dynamic labour supply problems numerically, and how to estimate their structural parameters introducing the Simulated Method of Moments. It will show how the problem is modified in topical research, for instance to consider the formation of human capital over the course of life; the impact of the tax and benefit system; that choices happen within the family; or health and retirement decisions. Finally, a part of the course will introduce frictions in the labour market and job search.
In urban economics, topics may include individual’s location choice within a city and transportation costs; location choice across cities; the existence and shape of cities and why industrial concentration may lead to greater productivity. The spatial distribution of economic activity and additional topics on location choice will conclude the unit.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
By building on the core methods and concepts learned in the first year, this unit will: (i) bring students up-to-date on the questions and open discussions in these research areas of economics; (ii) demonstrate how these questions have been addressed in the literature in a critical way; (iii) introduce students to the state-of-the-art methods used in structural economics; (iv) equip them to start conducting their own research in the field.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, successful students will be able to:
How you will learn
Teaching will be delivered through a set of intertwined, fully integrated theoretical and practical sessions lectures and classes. Students will also acquire in-depth understanding of specific areas by research state-of-the-art papers and discussing them with colleagues.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The students will each present a paper in labour or urban economics, from a list made available to them. The presentation will require students to critically assess the paper and discuss their strengths but also where further research may be needed. While this presentation will be also summative assessed, students will be able to gather significant feedback from the instructor. In addition, other students will be asked to actively participate by asking questions and voice their own opinions on each paper. One report per student on one of the papers will be requested, after the papers being reshuffled among students.
These tasks will help students develop the skills needed for the final assessment, which will be a directed research task. It will include a practical exercise requiring the development of code, use of data and critical assessment of results within the context of the area.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Presentation (50%). ILOs 1,2,3,4
Coursework including a directed research task and a paper that discusses it. (2500 words maximum) (50%) – ILOs 1-5
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis. If a student fails the presentation element, reassessment will be through a video presentation.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ECONM0024).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
