Date
In this lecture on topics and environmental economics, Dr. Sheila Olmstead presents an overview of the use of large-N econometric methods to understand empirical issues and characterize causality. She starts with the general summary of econometrics as the application of statistics to economic questions and she identifies the analytical foundations of empirical economics. She highlights the potential for experimental approaches in economics and notes that econometric applications use a range of approaches in research design and statistical analysis to approximate the assumptions of a controlled experiment design. She presents regression models, instrumental variables, and difference-in-difference approaches as analytical tools often applied in large-N econometric studies, and notes that these practices are similar to those used in other disciplines seeking to approximate experimental approaches.
-
About the Presenters
Image
Sheila Olmstead
Dr. Sheila Olmstead is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, a University Fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF), and a Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). She is also an Editor of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and a Charter Member of the Science Advisory Board at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2016-2017, she served in the White House as Senior Economist for Energy and the Environment on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Her current research...
Image
Sheila Olmstead
Dr. Sheila Olmstead is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, a University Fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF), and a Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). She is also an Editor of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and a Charter Member of the Science Advisory Board at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2016-2017, she served in the White House as Senior Economist for Energy and the Environment on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Her current research examines the economic benefits of water pollution control, the externalities associated with oil and gas development, free-riding in dam placement and water withdrawals in transboundary river basins, the welfare gains from water marketing, and many other topics in environmental economics and policy. She has also published many papers on water demand estimation and water conservation policy, and a bit on climate and energy policy.
-
Supporting Materials
Presentation slides:
DocumentEconometricsOverview (Olmstead).pdf (653.66 KB)
Reading List:
Angrist, J.D., and Pischke, Jorn-Steffen. (2009). Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricists companion. Princeton University Press, Chs 1 and 2.
Presenters
Sheila Olmstead, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Share