Research on Economics of Population

This activity was written by David Lam, Department of Economics, University of Michigan. It was submitted by George Alter, ICPSR, University of Michigan.
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This material was originally created for Starting Point: Teaching Economics
and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.

Summary

Students will use the statistical package Stata to analyze demographic and economic change in the United States and other countries, applying recent innovations in the application of microeconomic theory and econometrics to the analysis of demographic behavior, labor markets, poverty, and inequality.


Learning Goals

Students will learn data analysis using Census data and will apply concepts from microeconomic theory.

Context for Use

This was used in a course on the economics of population. The term paper assignment was supported by weekly computer labs and problem sets in which students learned to use statistical software.

Description and Teaching Materials


It is helpful to distribute term paper guidelines and expectations at the start of the term. Intermediate deadlines, desired structure and presentation, and suggested topics should all be included. The following was distributed to this class: Term paper assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 98kB Sep28 09). A syllabus is provided as well: Course outline (Acrobat (PDF) 51kB Sep28 09)

Detailed problem sets pace student work on the research project throughout the semester. Problem sets are provided here:
Problem sets (Acrobat (PDF) 145kB Sep28 09)

Assessment

References and Resources