Economics 244:
Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation
Spring 2009
Course requirements
- Problem sets: 50% of course grade. There will be 6 computer-oriented problem sets, based on codes and datasets that I provide. On the due day, bring hard copies of your outputs and answers to class, where we will discuss the results. At the end of class, hand in your hardcopies to get credit for them.
- Paper or final exam: 50% of course grade. You can write a paper for this course or take a final exam, whichever you prefer and/or find most useful for yourself. The paper should utilize the methods from the course. Ideally, you will examine a topic and data that leads to your thesis. Papers are due in the last class meeting, May 7, and a final exam will be given that day. You can either turn in a paper that day or take the exam.
Software
The lectures and problem sets use matlab and its optimization toolbox. You can use other languages, such as gauss, but you will be on your own to translate the problem set codes. Mathworks sells a student version of matlab, called Matlab/Simulink Student Version R2007A, that includes the optimization toolbox. It is available at the Scholar’s Workstation computer store for $94.99 (Hearst Field Annex, Bldg D-1.). I think you will find that having the software on your own PC is much more convenient than using a shared computer. You can use the Econometrics Lab’s shared computers, which have a site license for matlab and the optimzation toolbox. Other departments might also have systems that you can use. In class, I will describe matlab coding, but I do not plan to describe how to interact with the Econometrics Lab (i.e., the unix commands for submitting jobs, etc.) Also, the codes and datasets in the problem sets are in text files that are formated for windows systems. If you use the Econometrics Lab, you might need to convert the formats to unix (eg., windows and unix have different end-of-line markers for text files.) However, the codes themselves run equivalently on either system.