Econ 145, Section 2
9:00-10:15, Tues. and Thurs., Amador 220
Sacramento State
Spring 2012
Professor Steve Perez
916-278-6919, sjperez@csus.edu
Office Hours: T, R – 12:15-1:15
Tahoe 3010
ECON 145. Economic Research Methods.
Covers the basics of conducting applied economic research: the selection of topic, literature survey,
choice of research method, formulation of hypothesis, testing of hypothesis using empirical analysis,
and summary and conclusions. Designed to enhance the students ability to integrate economic
theory, quantitative research skills, and research. Note: Open to graduating seniors
only. Prerequisite: ECON 100A, ECON 100B, ECON 140, and GWAR certification before Fall 09,
WPJ score of 70+, or at least a C- in ENGL 109 M/W. Graded: Graded Student. Units: 3.0
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All information regarding this class can be obtained through SacCt at:
http://www.csus.edu/sacct

To access the course information you must be registered for this class and have an
active saclink account. I will expect you to check your mail through SacCt at least
twice a week.
Expectations:
I will expect you to treat this course like you will treat a job. This will be a difficult process and
you should expect to put in a lot of time. In the end you will produce something that you will
be very proud of.
In this course you will develop your ability to do what economists are good at – answer
questions. To do this, you will conduct an independent research project and refine the skills
and techniques required to do so. The end result will be a written and oral presentation of
your project. This will be a difficult endeavor as you probably have not done something like
this in the past.
You will be required to come up with a research topic and question. You should choose
something of interest to you as you will be living with it for the entire semester. You will be
required to survey the existing literature regarding your topic so as to fully understand the
issues and where you project fits with existing knowledge. You will be required to collect
and refine data to make answering your question possible. You will be required to analyze
the data and attempt to answer your research question. Finally, you will be required to
communicate your findings both in written and oral form.
You have all taken Econ 140, in which you learned about regression analysis. We will
review some of the topics related to regression analysis. But, I will assume that you have
been exposed to and understand how to:
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Run a basic regression
Interpret the coefficient estimates
Analyze regression quality as described in:
o Doing Economics, by Steven Greenlaw, Houghton Mifflin Company
o Analysis of Economic Data, by Gary Koop, Wiley.
Econ 145, Section 2
9:00-10:15, Tues. and Thurs., Amador 220
Sacramento State
Spring 2012
Professor Steve Perez
916-278-6919, sjperez@csus.edu
Office Hours: T, R – 12:15-1:15
Tahoe 3010
This basic data analysis knowledge can only get you so far, and maybe just far enough to
make mistakes. In this course we will learn more econometrics. If you have taken Econ
141, much of this will likely be review. For those of you that haven’t, it will be new material.
I will present material covering econometrics as it is covered in the textbook below which is
recommended for the course. However, any econometrics textbook will probably suffice.

Using Econometrics: A Practical Guide, sixth edition, A.H. Studenmund, Pearson.
This
book
is
available
as
an
online
book
here:
http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0131367765 and the
companion website for students is: http://wps.aw.com/aw_studenmund_useecon_6/
Course Organization
The class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a computer lab. I plan to present material on
Tuesdays, until all material is covered. On Thursdays, you will work on your activities or your
projects and I will be there to assist you.
Grading
There are several assignments that you will work on all leading to a completed written empirical
research project and presentation. The assignments are listed below:
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Proposal/Introduction
Economic literature review
Theoretical review
Data presentation
Empirical evaluation
Reflection and summary
Oral presentation
Each assignment will have a due date and be graded on a 0-5 scale described by a rubric for each
assignment. After each has been graded you will have the opportunity to revise each and be
re-graded. You should be certain to address any and all comments made regarding your previous
submission, or your grade will likely go down.
First submissions of all assignments (other than the oral presentation) must be turned in by
the end of the 12th week to receive consideration and for you to be able to do the oral
presentation.
This course is a culmination of your work in the economics program and thus we want to see what
you have learned. While you course grade will be determined by the above scale, YOU MUST
RECEIVE A MINIMUM SCORE OF 3 ON EACH AND EVERY ASSIGNMENT TO GET AT LEAST A
C IN THIS COURSE.
Econ 145, Section 2
9:00-10:15, Tues. and Thurs., Amador 220
Sacramento State
Spring 2012
Professor Steve Perez
916-278-6919, sjperez@csus.edu
Office Hours: T, R – 12:15-1:15
Tahoe 3010
Your course grade will be determined in the following manner:
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A of some sort = 32 and above
B of some sort = 25 - 31
C or C+ = 21 - 24
C- = 18-20
D of some sort = 11-17
F = 10 or less
Special Note:

If any of your assignments have more than 5 spelling and/or grammatical errors, it will receive
a zero and be returned.
Policies:


Attendance is highly recommended.
Cheating is not tolerated. You should be familiar with the University policies
regarding Academic Honesty
(http://www.csus.edu/umanual/student/UMA00150.htm). If you are caught cheating,
the result will depend on the severity of the offense. At a minimum, you will receive
a zero on the assignment and a letter summarizing the offense will be sent to
Student Affairs. For extreme cases, you will fail the course and a letter
summarizing the offense will be sent to Student Affairs.