PA 555: Statistics for Public Policy II

The course will focus on regression analysis as a quantitative tool to assess the effectiveness and impacts of policy. Topics will include Ordinary Least Squares, Hypothesis Testing, Logistic Regressions, Instrumental Variables, and Time Series Methods, as well as specification choice, regression diagnostics, and robustness testing. In addition to the core content, each week students will read an article utilizing a quantitative policy analysis method to understand the approach and critique the model assumptions. Homework assignments will put theory into practice and teach students coding skills using STATA.