Photo credit: Anna Logue
Spring 2021
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Economics
E801: Advanced Microeconomics II5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E801Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades
One final examination of 120 min. A prerequisite for the admission to the examination is the regular participation in class, submission of problem sets, good performance in exercise sessions.
Course Content
The course provides an advanced introduction to the theory of general equilibrium. This is a subject that is technically demanding and typically taught only superficially in more elementary classes. It builds in particular on the introductory microeconomics class E702, but also uses the mathematical tools provided in E700, and builds on themes developed in macroeconomics in E701. It is related to the advanced macroeconomics classes, but develops the conceptual sides of the equilibrium problem in more detail than those classes.
The course treats the following topics:
1. Aggregate Demand, 2. Production Theory, 3. Exchange Economies, 4. Production Economies, 5. Uncertainty and Arrow-Debreu Equilibrium, 6. Basic Asset Pricing.
The course teaches the fundamentals of economic equilibrium theory and thus lays the foundations for almost all aggregate theories in economics, such as macroeconomics, international trade, finance, environmental economics, etc. It is complemented by intensive problem-solving work by the students and exercise sessions.
Teaching Method: Lecture (4 SWS) + Exercise (2 SWS)
Competences acquired
After taking this class, students are supposed to know the core concepts of general economic equilibrium, such as the Law of Demand, contingent markets, Walrasian equilibrium, the core, arbitrage-free allocations, market incompleteness, etc.
They are able to analyze problems involving these concepts independently and apply them to issues arising in various fields of economics, such as international trade, macroeconomics, public finance, and others. Special emphasis is put on the technical competence in applying these concepts.
After taking this class, students should understand the role of the price mechanism in different economic contexts and analyze its functioning for the research questions they are studying. They can distinguish a competitive problem from a game-theoretic or decision-theoretic problem and use the corresponding formal and conceptual tools with confidence and competence.
They can assess the scope of equilibrium arguments and decide whether an equilibrium-theoretic approach to a certain research question is appropriate. They understand the common structure of economic equilibrium models and can use this knowledge to transfer insights from one subfield to another.
Professor: Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden, Phone: (0621) 181 – 1914; email: vthadden@uni-mannheim.de; Office: 3.19, VWL-Building; Office hours: upon appointment.
Teaching Assistant: Dam Thi Anh
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 01.03.21 – 26.04.21 Monday 10:15 – 11:45 tba Lecture 03.03.21 – 28.04.21 Wednesday 08:30 – 10:00 tba Exam 30.04.21 Friday 13:45 – 15:45 online Tutorial Tutorial 04.03.21 – 29.04.21 Thursday 10:15 – 11:45 tba E802: Advanced Macroeconomics II5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E802Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Competences acquired
Teaching Assistant: Mykola Ryzhenkov
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 03.03.21 – 21.04.21 Wednesday 10:15 – 11:45 tba Lecture 03.03.21 – 21.04.21 Wednesday 13:45 – 15:15 tba Exam 28.04.21 Wednesday 13:45 – 15:45 online Tutorial Tutorial 01.03.21 – 19.04.21 Monday 12:00 – 13:30 tba E803: Advanced Econometrics II5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E803Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Course Content
The course provides an introduction to semi- and nonparametric estimation methods in microeconometrics, as well as to bootstrap theory and treatment effect evaluation.
Competences acquired
On successful completion of the module, students are expected to attain the following competences:
Attain advanced theoretical knowledge in econometrics in the specific topics the module covers at a high technical and mathematical level.
Be familiar with current theories and recent developments in the specific topics of focus for the module.
– Attain a higher/advanced level of analytical capability.
Be in a position to take on follow-up advanced theoretical and applied econometrics modules.
Attain the level of competence that permits independent undertakings in search of new knowledge in the specialist areas the module covers.
Attain the level of competence required to carry out (theoretical) research-oriented projects independently.
To be in a position to exchange information, ideas, and solutions with experts of the field on a scientific level as well as with laymen.
To be able to communicate and to work effectively and efficiently with people and in groups.
Graduates are able to communicate precisely in the English specialist language.
Prof. Yoshiyasu Rai, PhD, yraimail.uni-mannheim.deLiterature/
recommended textbooks
Bruce E. Hansen (2019), Econometrics, Manuscript, University of Wisconsin.
A. W. van der Vaart (1998), Asymptotic Statistics, Cambridge University PressSchedule
Lecture Lecture 02.03.21 – 20.04.21 Tuesday 10:15 – 13:30 tba Tutorial 05.03.21 – 23.04.21 Friday 10:15 – 11:45 tba Exam 26.04.21 Monday 13:45 – 15:45 online E804: Advanced Microeconomics III5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E804Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Written Exam
Course Content
The goal is to provide an introduction to the role of private information and its strategic use in various environments including markets, contracts, negotiations, regulation, communication, political processes, and expert advice.
Summary of Contents:
I. Adverse Selection.
II. Signaling.
III. Screening.
IV. Moral Hazard.
V. Mechanism design.Competences acquired
Successful participants’ understanding of the role of private information in strategic environments is at the forefront of current research. They are ready to begin developing their own research questions in this field of study, can synthesize their knowledge with the study of economic problems in other fields, and are able to find solutions to practical problems concerning beneficial regulatory interventions in various contexts of market failure. Crucially, successful participants understand the fundamental tension between private information and achieving social goals. This understanding enlightens their judgment of conflict and cooperation in a wide range of social situations beyond the narrow context of economics.
Teaching Assistant: Daniil Larionov
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 03.05.21 – 14.06.21 Monday 10:15 – 11:45 tba Lecture 04.05.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 15:30 – 17:00 tba Exam 25.06.21 Friday 13:45 – 15:45 online Tutorial Tutorial 06.05.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 13:45 – 15:15 tba E805: Advanced Macroeconomics III5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E805Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803
Requirements for the Assignment of ECTS Credits and Grades
There will be problem sets and one final exam. The course grade is based on your performance in the problem sets (20%) and the final exam (80%).
Course Content
The focus of this course is on heterogeneity in macroeconomics. In doing so, this course introduces basic tools of modern macroeconomics and discusses various applications.
The topics of this course are:
Consumption/
savings: complete markets, incomplete markets, aggregate uncertainty
Investment: neoclassical theory, adjustment costs, financial frictions, misallocation
Labor markets: partial equilibrium search, general equilibrium search and matching with random and directed searchTeaching Method: Lecture (2 SWS) and Exercise (1 SWS)
Competences acquired
Students acquire a deeper understanding of the mathematical methods used in modern macroeconomics. In particular, they learn about the scope and limitation of each mathematical method. The discussion of various applications in class and during TA sessions prepares students for conducting independent research on their Ph.D. (or Master) thesis. Though this course is mainly about macroeconomics, students are also able to apply the mathematical techniques (i.e. dynamic programming) to problems in other fields of economics. The generality of the mathematical/
theoretical framework allows students to connect seemingly unrelated problems and issues. Students not only formulate and solve advanced scientific problems, but also learn how to communicate their results effectively. Teaching Assistant: Giovanni Ballarin
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 03.05.21 – 14.06.21 Monday 08:30 – 10:00 tba Lecture 03.05.21 – 14.06.21 Monday 17:15 – 18:45 tba Exam 23.06.21 Wednesday 13:45 – 15:45 online Tutorial Tutorial 04.05.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 13:45 – 15:15 tba E806: Advanced Econometrics III5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: core courseCourse Number: E806Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Written exam and assignments
Course Content
In Part I we first reconsider extremum estimators, with a focus on M-estimation, then discuss the three main testing principles (LR, LM, WALD) and, finally, introduce the bootstrap in relation to testing. While Part II is devoted to basic analysis of panel data (models), Part III deals with time series analysis. The latter part is somewhat more detailed but still just focusses on stationary time series set-ups.
Competences acquired
Mathematical argumentation, Ability to read scientific texts
Literature:
- Cameron, A.C. and Trivedi, P.K. (2005), Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Hamilton, J.D. (1994), Time Series Analysis, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Hayashi, F. (2000), Econometrics, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Horowitz, J. L. (2001), The Bootstrap, in J. J. Heckmann & E. bE. Leamer (eds), Handbook of Econometrics, Vol. 5, North-Holland, Amsterdam.
- Lütkepohl, H. and Krätzig, M. (2004), Applied Time Series Econometrics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Wooldridge, J.M. (2010), Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 05.05.21 – 14.06.21 Wednesday 08:30 – 11:45 online Exam 21.06.21 Monday 13:45 – 15:45 online Tutorial Tutorial 06.05.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 10:15 – 11:45 online E800: CDSE Seminar (2nd & 3rd year)12 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E800Credits: 12Prerequisites
2nd and higher year Ph.D. students from the Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics (CDSE)
2nd year students from the Master of Economic Research
Course Content
Method (hours per week): Colloquium (2 h)
Duration of the module: 4 semesters
ECTs awarded after each semester: 3 ECTs
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 02.03.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 15:30 – 17:00 tba E8004: Reading Course in Environmental Economics (3rd & 4th year)2.5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8004Credits: 2.5Prerequisites
Prerequisites: First-year sequence in the Economics PhD program.
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Presentations
Course Content
Students will read, present and discuss papers in environmental economics.
Competences acquired
- Presentation skills
- Participation in scientific discourse
- Absorption of recent research in environmental economics
- Acquisition of a reading routine
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 01.03.21 – 14.06.21 Monday, every two weeks 13:45 – 15:15 online E8008: Doctoral Colloquium (3rd & 4th year)2,5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8008Credits: 2,5Schedule
Colloquium 06.05.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 13:45 – 15:15 online E8010: Econometrics Research Seminar (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8010Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
Course Content
This seminar provides a forum for internal and external speakers to discuss their recent research in econometrics. Students working on either econometrics or an empirical project with a substantive econometric component are welcome to present. Please contact the instructor to set up a date.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 04.03.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 15:30 – 17:00 tba E8014: Quantitative Macroeconomics with Heterogeneous Households (2nd year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8014Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703; some familiarity with a programming language of your choosing (e.g. Python, Fortran, Julia, C, MATLAB)
Grading and ECTS credits: problem sets and presentations
Course Content
This course will discuss how the household heterogeneity affects the economy and how the macroeconomic policy and existing market frictions underlie the level of inequality. To this end it will introduce the standard incomplete-markets model, an arguable workhorse of modern macroeconomics, in which households face uninsurable income risk and use risk-free assets to smooth the marginal utility of their consumption. This will be extended to: (1) models with overlapping generations and a life-cycle component and (2) two-asset models. Next, we will recast the standard framework in continuous time to achieve greater computational performance than traditional discrete-time methods.
Course roadmap:
1. Optimal stochastic growth model and income fluctuations problem.
2. Solving DP problems with exogenous and endogenous labor supply using value function iteration.
3. Root-finding procedures (covered only bisection but can cover Newton methods as well).
4. Policy function iteration.
5. (One-dimensional) approximation: (a) piecewise linear approximation; (b) Chebychev polynomials.
6.Different types of grids: (a) equispaced; (b) exponential grid; (c) power-space grid.
7. Endogenous gridpoints method (EGM) (Carroll, EL 2005).
8. Discretization of income process: (a) Tauchen (EL, 1986); (b) Rouwenhorst (Cooley, 1995); (c) Random walk in finite horizon.
9. Simulations: how to generate random numbers from an arbitrary distribution.
10. Standard incomplete markets model. Saving motives. Computing invariant distribution.
11. Lifecycle incomplete market economy with OLG structure. Different earnings dynamics: (a) Guerrieri-Lorenzoni (QJE, 2017); (b) Castañeda et al. (JPE, 2003).
12. Two-asset SIM model with discrete adjustment (Kaplan and Violante, Ecta 2014). EGM for the two-asset problem. Multidimensional piecewise linear approximation.
13. Heterogeneous Agent Economies in Continuous Time (Achdou et al., 2017).Competences acquired
The students gain knowledge and understanding how to use numerical methods to solve dynamic programing problems.
Contact Information: Krzysztof Pytka; email: pytka@uni-mannheim.de; phone: (0621) 181–181-7; Office: L7 3–5, room 2.09, Office hours: by appointment.
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 03.03.21 – 28.04.21 Wednesday 12:00 – 15:15 tba E8022: Industrial Organization Empirics (2nd year)7 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8022Credits: 7Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades
Assignments: 4 (75%)
Presentation (20%)
Class participation (5%)Course Content
The course examines the organization of firms, industries and markets. Industrial Organization studies the strategic interactions of firms in markets, and their implications for firms’ profits and consumer welfare. Market power and market structure are key concepts in IO. Market power (or monopoly power) is the ability of a firm, or group of firms, to gain extraordinary profits above those needed to remunerate the inputs. Market structure is a description of the number of firms in the market and of their respective market shares. The course has the goal to develop an active understanding of econometric analysis of market power and competition. Such goal is illustrated with applications to competition policy and competitive strategy. We will study empirically the determinants of firms’ and consumers’ behavior and market outcomes in the context of problems of price competition, investment, innovation, product design, mergers, or market entry-exit. Topics will cover: econometric issues and methods in the estimation of production functions, demand estimation, static models of Cournot and Bertrand competition, empirical models of entry and some general ideas of dynamic structural models.
Competences acquired
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to develop and actively understand econometric analysis of market power and competition. They will be able to combine data, economic models, and appropriate econometric techniques to answer empirical questions in Industrial Organization.
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 12.02.21 – 30.04.21 Friday 13:45 – 15:15 tba Tutorial Tutorial 08.02.21 – 26.04.21 Monday 15:30 – 17:00 tba E8027: Economics of Innovation (2nd year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8027Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Requirements for the Assignment of ECTS Credits and Grades: Written exam (70 %); 2–3 short presentations (30%)
Course Content
This course covers topics on the economics of innovation for PhD students.
Topics include the following:
- Intellectual property: The institutions and the economics of different forms of intellectual property (patents, copyright, trade secrets), including questions of optimal design of intellectual property and firms’ optimal IP strategy.
- Incentives to invest: Models (and evidence) to understand how monetary and non-monetary incentives shape firms' and entrepreneurs' decisions to innovate and invest in R&D. Relationship between competition and investment/
innovation and the functioning of prizes, contests, and grants. - Licensing, joint ventures, and open innovation: Innovators' decisions to license their intellectual property to both competitors and non-competitors. Competitors' decisions to form a joint venture and collaboratively develop technologies while competing in the market place. Open innovation. Competition policy concerns about licensing and joint ventures.
- Network effects and technology standard development: Networks, network effects, and two models of standard development: (1) standard wars, and (2) collaborative standardization (a form of co-opetition).
Basic (and background) textbook is “Innovation and Incentives” by Suzanne Scotchmer (MIT Press 2004). In addition, handbook chapters and research articles are assigned to supplement the material in the textbook for a more thorough treatment of the topics or for topics not covered in the textbook.
The lecture focus on theoretical aspects of the economics of innovation. The empirical side of the course topics is covered by means of short student presentations. Each student is expected to present short summaries of two to three papers in class.Competences acquired
Acquisition of a thorough understanding of the key topics, seminal models, and frontiers of research in the economics of innovation; presentation skills.
Responsible teacher of the module: Dr. Bernhard Ganglmair, ganglmairuni-mannheim.de
Schedule
Lecture Lecture 03.03.21 – 16.06.21 Wednesday 10:15 – 11:45 tba E8031: Research Seminar Topics in Market Design (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8031Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
A firm understanding of Game Theory (Advanced Microeconomics). Auction Theory or Market Design lecture is a plus but not a requirement.
Grading and assignment of ECTS credit: A written seminar paper on a topic of own choice and a presentation in class.
Course Content
- Procurement
– Spectrum auctions
– Auctions vs. Negotiations
– Matching Markets
Competences acquired
During the seminar students will explore the frontiers of research in market design. Completing the assignment will put the students into the position to develop innovative research ideas in the realm of market design.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 09.03.21 Tuesday 13:45 – 15:15 tba Block Seminar 31.05.21 Monday 09:00 – 17:00 tba Block seminar 07.06.21 Monday 09:00 – 17:00 tba E8032: Inequality and Economic Policy5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8032Credits: 5Prerequisites
Formal: 2nd and higher year Ph.D. students from the Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics (CDSE).
2nd year students from the Master of Economic Research.Requirements for the assignment of ECTS Credits and Grades
• Presentation 80%
• Discussion 20%Course Content
The course will discuss current research that analyzes the effect of economic policy on growth and inequality using the tools of modern macroeconomics.
Competences acquired
Students will gain a deeper understanding of the effect of economic policy on growth and inequality.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 04.03.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 13:45 – 15:15 tba E8036: Research Seminar in Applied Economics (3rd & 4th year)2.5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8036Credits: 2.5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
Course Content
The research seminar is a forum for applied economics research in all fields (e.g. micro as well as macro). Participants will be asked to present their preliminary ideas and more advanced research or present the papers they are planning to base their research on. We will then discuss (further) open research questions and empirical strategies to address these questions.
Schedule
Seminar Research Seminar 03.03.21 – 09.06.21 Wednesday (every two weeks) 13:45 – 15:15 tba E8038: Public Economics II (2nd year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8038Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806 or equivalent, Public Economics I highly recommended
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Presentation of short research proposal and referee reportCourse Content
The course is intended to provide insights into current research in the area of public economics, covering fiscal competition and mobility of tax bases, firm taxation, property taxation, tax evasion, place-based policies. Compared to Public Economics I (taught in the fall semester), the course is more empirically oriented but also covers the standard theoretical models for the respective topics
Competences acquired
Ability to understand current academic research at the frontier; critical evaluation of literature; first steps towards formulating own research questions; improvement of research writing and presentation skills.
Responsible teacher of the module: Professor Eckhard Janeba, Professor Sebastian Siegloch
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 02.03.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 13:45 – 15:15 tba E8041: Environmental Economics Research Seminar (3rd & 4th year)2,5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8041Credits: 2,5Course Content
In this seminar, internal and external speakers discuss their recent research in environmental economics. Students working on an empirical or theoretical project that is related to environmental economics are welcome to present. Please contact the instructor to set up a date.
Schedule
Seminar 02.03.21 – 08.06.21 Tuesday, every two weeks 13:45 – 15:15 tba E8043: History of Recent Economics (2nd year course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8043Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Presentation (30 minutes, 50%), class participation (Q&A, constructive criticism of other presentations – 10%), seminar paper (40%).
Course Content
Economics underwent several major transformations in the 20th century. Mathematical formalization, economic modeling, econometrics and economic experiments transformed it to such a degree that two economists century apart would have trouble to understand each other and practice economics in the same fashion.
The aim of this seminar is to understand these transformations through the study of selected Nobel Prize-winning contributions to economics. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences has come to be associated with the most influential and path-breaking research in economics. Since its inception in 1969, eighty six scholars have been awarded it.Competences acquired
In this seminar, students learn to comprehend, present, critically evaluate and historically situate the work of leading economists of the second half of the 20th century. As a result, they should gain knowledge of history of modern economics and better understand the practice of modern economics.
Responsible teacher of the module: Dr. Andrej Svorenčík
Schedule
Seminar Into meeting 04.03.21 Thursday 15:30 – 17:00 tba Block seminar 23.04.21 Friday 10:00 – 16:00 tba Block seminar 24.04.21 Saturday 10:00 – 16:00 tba E8044: Economics of the Environment (2nd year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E8044Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700-E703. Recommended: E8022 and/
or E8038 (can be taken simultaneously) Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades:
10-page research proposal: 50%
1 assignment: 20%
30-minute presentation: 20%
class participation: 10%
Course Content
The objective of this course is to introduce the main concepts and empirical tools used in the economic analysis of environmental policies. The course will cover a broad range of current topics in environmental, energy, and climate policy. The basic structure of the course will involve presentation and discussion of papers that should be read in advance. Selected topics:
- Environmental regulation and industrial performance
- Carbon pricing
- Emissions trading
- Carbon leakage
- Environmental cost benefit analysis
- Health impacts of pollution
- Hedonic valuation of environmental amenities
- Political economy of environmental regulation
- Lobbying
- International agreements
Further Information:
Students will be given a list of required and recommended readings that includes journal articles, working papers, and handbook chapters. The recommended textbook for background reading is
D. Phaneuf and T. Requate (2017). A Course in Environmental Economics. Cambridge University Press.
Competences acquired
Thorough understanding of the key topics, ability to critically evaluate empirical research in environmental economics that employs both structural and reduced-form econometric methods. Ability to apply state-of-art research methods. Presentation skills.
Schedule
Lecture Elective Course 04.03.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 10:15 – 11:45 tba E821: Topics in Empirical Development Economics (3rd and 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E821Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806, successful completion of first two years of PhD programme
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS Credits and Grades
A written seminar paper on a topic of own choice and a presentation in class.Course Content
Research seminar where Ph.D. students, who have completed their course work, present their own research and receive feedback. (Topics in empirical development economics with microeconometric methods. Development economics can be subdivided into three branches: Macro, micro theory and empirical with micro data. We only cover the last area. Macro and micro theory have been the driving forces of development economics initially, but with the increasing availability of microdata for Africa, Asia and Latin America in the last two decades, the foundation of the J-PAL network and the Nobel Prize in 2019, empirical development economics has been gaining attention.)
Competences acquired
Doctoral Students will know how to
– identify a research question,
– put a research question into context of the relevant literature,
– present their current stage of research to their peers in a seminar environmentSchedule
Seminar Research seminar 05.03.21 – 18.06.21 Friday 12:00 – 13:30 tba E839: Topics in Macroeconomics (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E839Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806, at least first and second year Ph.D. courses.
Requirements for the assignment: Presenting of Research Projects
Course Content
Research seminar where Ph.D. students, who have completed their course work, present their own research and receive feedback. Occasionally we will also have an outside speaker.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 04.03.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 12:00 – 13:30 tba E846: Reading Course in Industrial Organization (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E846Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
Requirements for the Assignment of ECTS Credits and Grades: Presentation (100%)
Course Content
This seminar is aimed at PhD students writing their dissertation in Industrial Organization. It is intended to guide students at all stages of dissertation research. The emphasis be on presentation and discussion of material by students.
Competences acquired
Doctoral Students will know how to
- identify a research question,
- put a research question into context of the relevant literature,
- present their current stage of research to their peers in a seminar environment.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 03.03.21 – 16.06.21 Wednesday 12:00 – 13:30 tba E866: Research Seminar in Economic Policy (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E866Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
Grading: At least one presentation. Students who wish to obtain ECTS credits should sign up for the course, students who do not wish to obtain credits should not sign up for the course.
>>> In order to facilitate the interaction of researchers during the lockdown, the Seminar already will begin on Monday, February 1. Thus, the seminar will have up to 17 presentations and up to 2.2 SWS. <<<
Course Content
Students present and discuss policy related economic research.
Competences acquired
Students learn to apply economic theory and quantitative methods to policy problems.
Further information: Students who would like to participate should contact Hans Grüner before the beginning of the semester
Contact Information: Prof. Dr. Grüner, Phone: (0621) 181–1886, email: gruener@uni-mannheim.de, Office: L7, 3–5, room 2–06
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 01.02.21 – 14.06.21 Monday 17:15 – 18:45 online E873: Research Seminar in Public Economics (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E873Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, at least second year Ph.D. or Research Master
Requirements for the assignment of ECTS-Credits and Grades: Oral presentation of own reserach, contribution to discussion of other perticipants' reserach; only pass/
fail. Course Content
Presentation and discussion of current research in public economics (external and internal speakers)
Competences acquired
Improve presentations skills, obtain feedback to improve research paper.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 02.03.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 12:00 – 13:30 tba E878: Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (3rd & 4th year)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: E878Credits: 5Prerequisites
E700, E701, E702, E703, E801, E802, E803, E805, E806
Grading and assignment of ECTS credits: Presentation and active participation
Course Content
In this seminar participants present and discuss their current research as well as ideas for future research. An important goal of the seminar is to provide a forum for students working on projects that use experimental methods or relate to themes in behavioral economics.
Competences acquired
Designing laboratory or field experiments; Executing research projects; Presenting own research results.
Further information
If you are interested in the seminar, please contact Henrik Orzen.
Schedule
Seminar Seminar 02.03.21 – 15.06.21 Tuesday 12:00 – 13:30 tba IntRes: Interdisciplinary Research in the Economic and Social Sciences (Bridge Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: IntResCredits: 5Course Content
This course is exclusively geared towards students who are currently doctoral students at the GESS of the University of Mannheim. It is intended for beginning as well as advanced doctoral students. This course is an elective course and counts as a 'Bridge Course'. Maximum number of participants is 15. If the course is not fully booked, non-GESS students from Business, Economics, or the Social Sciences or from other related disciplines can enroll.
Course Content
This course will introduce student to interdisciplinary research and aims at initiating projects of an interdisciplinary nature, thereby fostering the interdisciplinary spirit of the graduate students at the GESS. This year, the course will be given by one senior researchers from each center of the GESS, i.e., you will have the unique opportunity to receive truly interdisciplinary feedback on your work from three different angles.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Kick-Off & Introductory Session: What is interdisciplinary research.
After a short introduction on the nature and success of interdisciplinary research as well as the structure of the course by the instructors, each participant will shortly (max 5 min, 2–3 slides per person) present the core idea of an interdisciplinary paper published in a top journal in her field. Please browse the recent issues of the most important journals in your field to find such a paper. Note that interdisciplinarity can have various aspects in this context (e.g., methods developed for a specific purpose in one field being used in another context, using a theoretical framework from one area to better understand a research question in another, using data generated in another context for a research project, ...). Your presentation should make clear, what the interdisciplinary innovation of the paper is.
2. Mini Research Day
The second component of the course is a ‘Mini-Research-Day’ which is intended to introduce the kind of topics you are working on to the other participants. You will give a presentation on a current working paper or research project of yours and you will discuss a paper/
presentation from one of your fellow students from another field (10 min presentation, 5 min discussion, 10 min Q&A). 3. Science Speed Dating
The science speed dating event – organized by your student representatives – involves short bilateral talks between participants with the later possibility to match research interests. All course participants will participate in the speed dating event and are asked to develop at least one collaborative research proposal with a student from another field (preferably from our course).
4. Project Presentations & Writeups
This proposal will be presented by groups of 2 (in exceptional cases 3) students in a final meeting about four weeks after the speed dating event. These teams will also prepare a write-up of their proposal (max. 5 pages, incl. References) explaining the intended contribution to the literature, the interdisciplinary aspects of the project and the proposed procedure how to implement the project to be handed in two weeks after the presentation.
Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will
- have gotten in touch with a variety of disciplinary research methods and perspectives from different fields
- critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these research methods
- identify and develop an interdisciplinary research proposal and communicate their ideas clearly in both, a presentation and in writing.
- have practiced to present their work to a critical, interdisciplinary audience and to discuss other students work in a format closely resembling that of most academic conferences.
Form of assessment:
This is a Pass/
Fail course. To successfully pass the course, each student has to: - Give a short paper presentation in the introductory session.
- Present, discuss, and participate in the ‘Mini Research Day’. An extended abstract and the set of slides that will be used for the presentation or (preferably) a working paper draft needs to be provided by each presenting student to the assigned discussant 10 days before the research day.
- Participate at the science speed dating event.
- Present your interdisciplinary research proposal (group of two students) and subsequently hand in a write-up
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
- The best interdisciplinary proposal will win a price.
Please register by the registration deadline given below, by sending a title and an abstract of the research project/
topic you would like to present during the ‘Mini Research Day’ to registrationgess.uni-mannheim.de. Please indicate in your e-mail your fields of interest and mention up to three broad other fields (e.g. Marketing, Macroeconomics, Social Psychology) you would like to collaborate with. Please note that the course is limited to a maximum of 15 participants, and seats will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.
Course dates:
February 15th, 2021 – Course Registration Deadline
March 11th, 2021, 12:30pm-3:30pm, Kick-Off Meeting
April 12th, 2021 – Deadline to send paper to discussant (and in cc: to gess@uni- mannheim.de)
April 22th, 2021 – Mini Research Day (whole day symposium)
April 28 th, 2021 – time TBA – Science Speed Dating Event
May 28th, 2021, Presentation of research proposal (half- to full day symposium)
June 13th, 2021 – Deadline to hand in interdisciplinary research proposal (to:gess@uni-mannheim.de)
MET: Interpretability and Fairness in Machine Learning6 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: METCredits: 6Prerequisites
Prior experience with R is helpful, but not necessary. Optional learning resources can be found here: https://rstudio.cloud/learn/primers
Course Content
Machine Learning (ML) is increasingly used to guide high-stakes decisions in various contexts such as college admissions, granting loans or hiring employees. By eliminating human judgment, ML-based decision-making promises to be neutral and objective and to find the right decisions in shorter time. At the same time, however, concerns are raised that algorithmic decision-making may foster discrimination and amplify existing biases that are fed into the models. This course discusses recent advances in the field of Interpretable and Fair ML: How can we explain predictions of black-box models? How can we measure and mitigate biases to make ML models fair? In addition to covering fairness and interpretability, the course will include a general introduction to supervised machine learning. Hands-on lab sessions will demonstrate how to train and interpret ML models using R.
Course requirements & assessment:
Presentation and term paper (graded)
Schedule
Seminar 1st group 11.03.21 – 17.06.21 Thursday 13:45 – 15:15 Sowi Zoom 03 Link 2nd group 16.04.21 – 28.05.21 Friday 12:00 – 15:15 Sowi Zoom 04 Link MLT: Mini Research Course on Macro-Labor Topics: Extensive-Margin Labor Supply and the Business Cycle0 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: MLTPrerequisites
Recommended: PhD-level background in macroeconomics and/
or labor economics. Course Content
There might be minor improvements to the syllabus between now and our first meeting. Please check back here for potential updates (if so, I will change the version counter and update its date): https://eml.berkeley.edu/~schoefer/schoefer_files/syllabus_Mannheim_July2021.pdf
Besides registering from the official system, please fill out this form when you register: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1abzkyI71dFE9EdJOKJfherttZgQot_EY5dyDOrqapzQ/edit?usp=sharing
Overview: The mini course will cover six meetings. The goal is to explore recent research on labor supply, focusing on the business cycle as well as the employment margin (i.e., how many people are working, rather than how many hours employed individuals work). I will give two introductory lectures on labor supply in macroeconomics. Then, we will together review frontier research! I will start off this part by presenting one of my recent papers, and will try to give some additional information on the research process (and look forward to your feedback). To boost interaction, we then will flip the classroom, with the students presenting (individually or in teams) recent papers from the reading list below. Our meetings are supposed to be low-stress, enjoyable, collaborative, constructive, and interactive.
Rules: 30min per paper (sometimes: pairs of papers). Your presentation should include slides, and should give an overview of the paper that covers the key ingredients, methods and results. Your talk lasts 35min including narrow (rather than big picture) interruptions – so if the paper does too much to cover in this time, you should pick its key components and zoom into the essential ingredients and steps. You should assume that everyone has read the paper, with you giving us a guided tour. Please send your slides the morning of our meeting to everyone. Then, you (supported by me) will lead the group discussion, which will last for the remaining 10min. Everyone will have prepared for a critical discussion of interesting bugs and features of the paper, and questions the paper leaves open, specifically those that may merit future research.
Assignments: Students will pick the papers they like, and can gladly do so in teams.
Schedule
Seminar 08.07.21 – 26.07.21 Mondays & Thursdays 13:45 – 15:15 online ZEW: Applied Theory for Empiricists (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
This course will cover simple microeconomic models that can be used to derive testable predictions, motivate empirical specifications, and explain empirical findings. We will cover a number of recent papers in industrial organization and international trade that have relied on combining applied-theoretical modelling with reduced-form empirical evidence. A reading list will be communicated at a later stage.
Competences acquired:
Students are able to build simple micro models and use them as building blocks for empirical work.Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
Literature will be announced prior to the course.Grading and assignment of ECTS-credits: Paper presentation (50%), referee report (50%)
SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: Lectures: July 26 – 30, 2021
Students’ presentations: First or second Friday of September 2021REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: Data Science for Economists (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
This seminar is targeted at economics PhD students and will introduce you to the modern data science toolkit. While some material will likely overlap with your other quantitative and empirical methods courses, this is not just another econometrics course. Rather, my goal is bring you up to speed on the practical tools and techniques that I feel will most benefit your dissertation work and future research career. This includes seemingly mundane skills, generally excluded from the core graduate curriculum, which are nevertheless essential to any scientific project. We will cover topics like version control (Git) and project management; data acquisition, cleaning and visualization; efficient programming; and tools for big data analysis (e.g. relational databases and cloud computation). In short, we will cover things that I wish someone had taught me when I was starting out in graduate school.
Competences acquired:
Familiarity / competence with some of the cornerstones of the modern data science toolkit (GitHub, unix shell, functional and parallel programming in R, Docker, Cloud computation and Databases). Time permitting, we’ll also cover topics like geospatial analysis and machine learning.Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
There is no prescribed textbook for this course. Instead, we will be working off the lecture material and notebooks that I have developed here.Grading and assignment of ECTS credits:
- Student presentation
- Student paper
SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: August 23 – 27, 2021
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: Economics of Migration (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
This course provides an overview of the key concepts in the economics of migration. It is divided into two parts. The first part consists of 4 lectures in which we will cover the basic theoretical models. The second part will be seminar style. Each seminar will consist of an overview of the specific topic given by me, and presentations given by the students. For this purpose, students will team up and prepare a presentation about one of the key papers in the relevant literature. A list of possible topics for the presentations will be sent in advance (end of May).
Competences acquired:
In-depths knowledge of the various research themes in the economics of migration. Good understanding of appropriate empirical methods to identify causal relationships.Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
Literature: A detailed reading list will be announced prior to the course.Grading and assignment of ECTS credits: Grades will be based on two activities.
- Students presentation.
- Students will submit a written “referee report”.
SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: July 5 – 9, 2021.
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: Hospital Economics (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
- The effect of competition on hospital quality
- The effect of quality and distance on patient choice of hospitals
- Hospital mergers
- DRG pricing and hospital incentives on quality and efficiency
- Pay for performance
- Public, private non-profit and private for-profit hospitals
- Waiting times for hospital services
Methods:
About 20% of the lecture material will develop (simple) theoretical models that can be used to guide the empirical analysis on the topics above.
The remaining 80% will be used to illustrate applied micro econometric methods, with a focus on causality, that can inform key policy issues related to the topics above. Empirical methods will cover difference-in-difference methods, instrumental variables, matching, regression discontinuity.
Competences acquired:
Upon completing the module, the student will: have acquired competences on formulating a research question within the broad area of the economics of hospitals or health care providers; have learnt different identification strategies in this research area; have a clear idea of the data required, e.g. in relation to quality, to address a research question in this area; be able to formulate a relatively simple theoretical model which supports the empirical analysis.Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
A detailed reading list based on journal articles will be provided for each topic.Grading and assignment of ECTS-credits:
- Paper presentation
- referee report
SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: Lectures: July 19 – 23, 2021
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: Identification Strategies (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
This is an introduction to some of the ways that econometricians think about identifying causal effects in observational (i.e. non-experimental) data. We will examine several of the standard ways of estimating causal effects in the presence of potentially unobserved confounding factors. We will also discuss how to make proper statistical inferences about those estimates. Both theoretical and applied work will be examined.
Competences acquired:
Familiarity with econometric methods used for causal inference.- Ability to evaluate and critique existing empirical research that uses causal inference methods.
- Identify and apply appropriate causal inference methods in students’ own research.
Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
The primary books for the class are Mostly Harmless Econometrics by Joshua Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke (Princeton University Press, 2008), denoted by AP in the list of readings; and Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications by Colin Cameron and Pravin K. Trivedi (Cambridge University Press, 2005), denoted by CT on the reading list. Other readings will be available on Zotero.Grading and assignment of ECTS credits:
research proposal (8 pages)SCHEDULE
Date of the course: August (exact date tbd), 2021
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: The Economics of Credence Goods (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses.
Course Content
- Introduction
- Definition and motivation
- Example industries
- Asymmetric information
- Reputation
- Second opinions
- Customer information
- Insurance
- Price regulation
- Quality competition
- Minimum quality requirements
- Restricted advertising
- Policy advice
Competences acquired:
- Proper understanding of the economics of credence goods
- Understanding the economic incentives of experts
- Evaluation of policy-relevant issues in expert markets
- Designing market institutions to overcome the information asymmetry inherent in credence goods
- Knowledge of the methods used to investigate expert markets
- Developing own research ideas
Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
Detailed literature will be announced prior to the course.Grading and assignment of ECTS-credits: seminar paper
SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: Lectures: July 5 – 8, 2021
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.
ZEW: ZEW Causal Machine Learning (ZEW Summer Course)5 ECTSLecturer(s)
Course Type: elective courseCourse Number: ZEWCredits: 5Prerequisites
All first year CDSE or equivalent courses. Standard graduate econometrics.
Course Content
The course has three parts. In the first part, we discuss the use of machine and statistical learning methods for predicting outcomes. In the second part, we focus on the most popular causal research designs used in econometrics, like selection-on-observables, IV, regression-discontinuity and difference-in-difference. The third part concerns causal machine learning, i.e. how to combine the prediction methods of the machine learning literature with the causal research designs to obtain reliable causal inference in empirical studies.
Competences acquired:
Students will obtain a basic knowledge of several popular machine/statistical learning methods, of the most important research designs, and how to combine both to obtain reliable and robust causal inference. They will be able to use these methods to conduct own empirical studies with causal machine learning methods. Further information (literature and recommended textbooks):
Literature will be announced prior to the course.Grading and assignment of ECTS credits:
Class participation (30%)
Group project presentations (via Skype, about 2 weeks after the course)SCHEDULE
Date of the Course: August 9 – 14, 2021
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.xing-events.com/SummerCourses2021 by May 24, 2021 and visit https://www.zew.de/WS1491 for further information.