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Applied Economic Analysis

Dates: August 24 - September 4, 2009

Tuition Fee: $5,000

Course Summary
The objective of the course is to expand participants’ knowledge and skills in applied economic research. Participants will learn to use data analysis and other research methods to analyze issues of interest in the policy, financial or business arena. Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

~ Apply data management techniques to create a data set and draw conclusions
~ Apply regression techniques to analyze economic issues and the effects of economic policies, and to examine hypotheses
~ Draw on variety of sources to develop background information on an issue of interest
~ Structure a brief report summarizing the questions and findings

 

Who Should Apply
~ Analysts at Nongovernmental Organizations who use data analysis in the development of policy reports
~Government officials from the central or local levels of government who are responsible for producing analytical reports on economic policies or who use analytical reports in the design of policy
~ Members of the analytical divisions of banks and non-financial firms who monitor the international economy, the domestic economy, or a particular economic sector
~ Managers at firms who need to be versatile in the generation and/or interpretation of analytical reports using economic data
~ University faculty who wish to expand their econometrics and research skills

Course Components
The first component of the course includes a series of lectures and workshops that expose course participants to skills in data analysis; participants learn to apply these skills to issues and data from their own countries with the assistance of the course instructors. These workshops will cover the following topics:

~ Data management
~ Computing basic statistics (means, coefficients of variation, correlations, time trends)
~ Regression Analysis I (basic linear regression, specifications test, hypothesis tests)
~ Regression Analysis II (common regression problems, panel analysis, basic time series)
~ Each workshop will have a lecture and a practical, hands–on component. The objective is to teach students how to use these techniques appropriately.

The second component of the course focuses on individual research. Specifically, the course participants will carry out a research project that relates to their professional interests. The objectives are to: 1) practice analytical skills, 2) produce a report that is immediately useful to the participant in his/her occupation, and 3) lay the groundwork, in terms of analytical skills and particular knowledge, for future economic analysis. The projects will be executed with the following timeline:

~ Formulating the research question, breaking down the project in specific tasks, and identifying the data by the middle of the first week of the course
~ Data collection, literature review and summary, and preliminary econometric analysis by the Monday of the second week of the course
~ Developing a first draft of the paper for review by the course instructors by the middle of the second week of the course
~ Incorporating the feedback and compiling the final draft by the end of the second week of the course

The implementation of the projects will be aided by the following:
~ Roundtable discussion of the projects on the first day of the program with input from the course instructors and other participants on the formulation and the planning of the project
~ Additional roundtable discussions with all participants where progress can be assessed and feedback for future steps is provided
~ Individual one-on-one guidance from the course instructors for each of the course participants
~ Information on internet and library resources for identifying relevant literatures and data sets
~ The course will also arrange visits to policy institutions as well as cultural and historic attractions in Atlanta.

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Course Coordinators Bios
Felix Rioja specializes in international macroeconomics, economic growth, and financial economics. He has written articles on the effects of public infrastructure, education, and pensions on economic growth and welfare. He has also written on the effects of the financial system on growth, poverty reduction and inequality. His research has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of International Money and Finance. Professor Rioja has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank and on policy advisory projects for Brazil, Jamaica, and Russia. He served as the Director of the Ph.D. in economics program from 2003 to 2008. He has been interviewed and quoted by various news media including CNN.

His research papers include:

“Productiveness and Welfare Implications of Public Infrastructure: A Dynamic Two-Sector General Equilibrium Analysis”
“The Penalties of Inefficient Public Infrastructure”
“Does One Size Fit All: A Reexamination of the Finance and Growth Relationship”
“Financial Development and the Distribution of Income in Latin America and the Caribbean”
“International Transmission of Anticipated Inflation Under Alternative Exchange-Rate Regimes”
“IMF Conditionality and Objections: The Russian Case”
“Taxation Issues in the Jamaican External Trade Sector”
A complete listing of Professor Rioja’s research can be found at his homepage: http://www2.gsu.edu/~ecofkr/
E-mail: frioja@gsu.edu
Telephone: 1-404-413-0164

Professor Neven Valev's research interests include international economics, exchange rate economics, financial economics, macroeconomic stabilization policy and international capital flows. He has written articles on various aspects of the financial system and its interactions with the real economy, on financial crises, exchange rate regimes, political economy, and foreign direct investment. Professor Valev has received numerous completive grants from institutions such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. State Department, the International Research and Exchanges Board, the National Council for Eurasia and East European Research, and the Center for International Business Education and Research. He has published in top economics journals including the Journal of Comparative Economics, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Money Credit and Banking, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the Journal of International Money and Finance. He has worked in advisory role on projects for Palestine and Russia. Professor Valev is an editorial writer for Capital, a business weekly in Eastern Europe. He is the Director of the Masters Program in Economics and was formerly the Director of the Summer Internship Program in Economic Policy Research funded by the National Science Foundation. He is on the editorial board of Economic Analysis and Policy and is a founding member of the Governance Monitoring Association, an NGO in Bulgaria. 

His research papers include:

“Who is to Blame? The Composition of Rapid Credit Expansions and Banking Crises”
“The Determinants of Long-term Credit across Countries”
“International Lending by US Banks”
"Tax Structures and FDI: The Role of Complexity and Uncertainty"
“The Political Economy of Adopting the Euro in the EU Accession Countries”
"Eastern and Southern Africa Monetary Integration: A Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis"
“Fixed Exchange Rate Credibility with Heterogeneous Expectations”
“Beliefs about Exchange Rate Stability: Survey Evidence from the Currency Board in Bulgaria”
“Public Attitudes toward Corruption and Tax Evasion: Investigating the Role of Gender over Time”
“IMF Conditionality and Objections: The Russian Case”
A complete listing of Professor Valev’s research can be found at his homepage: http://www2.gsu.edu/~econtv/home.html
E-mail: nvalev@gsu.edu
Telephone: 1-404-413-0162

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About the Economics Department at Georgia State University
The Georgia State Economics Department is one of the largest economics departments in the Southeast with over 35 faculty in all areas of economics including international economics, macroeconomics, labor economics, public finance, environmental economics, experimental economics, urban economics, and health economics. It’s doctoral program currently enrolls more than 60 students from over 20 countries. Recent graduates have taken positions at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, The United Nations, the Department of Treasury, the Environmental Protection Agency, the governments of Indonesia, Serbia, Mexico, among other countries, as well as at numerous academic institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

More Information:
http://aysps.gsu.edu/econ/index.html 
http://aysps.gsu.edu/index.html

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About the International Studies Program
The International Studies Program is a public policy research center that is part of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies is recognized worldwide for the contributions it has made in supporting economic and policy reforms through technical assistance and training in developing and transitioning economies. This reputation has been built serving a diverse client base, including multilateral assistance organizations such as the USAID and the World Bank, foreign ministries and government organizations, legislative bodies and private sector institutions. It has done work in over 30 countries including Albania, Egypt, Indonesia, Macedonia, Jamaica, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, and the Ukraine, among others.

More Information:
http://aysps.gsu.edu/isp/index.html

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About Georgia State
Georgia State University, founded in 1913, has a mission of excellence in teaching, research and service. Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, this major research university has an enrollment of 28,238 undergraduate and graduate students in six colleges. Georgia State is the second largest university in the state, with students coming from every county in Georgia, every state in the nation and from over 145 countries.

More Information:
http://www.gsu.edu/

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About Atlanta
An international city, Atlanta is home to the offices of more than 450 of the Fortune 500 firms, the major legislative, executive and judicial offices of state government, the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Falcons sports organizations, and a vibrant and diverse arts community. The Georgia State campus is centrally located downtown, near the Underground Atlanta entertainment complex, CNN's world headquarters and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Also close by are the new Georgia Aquarium, recently expanded High Museum of Art, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and The Carter Center.

More Information:
http://aysps.gsu.edu/1141.html

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Cost of the Course
The tuition fee for 2 weeks is US $5,000 (this includes accommodation)

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How to Apply
The application can be found on the Public Policy Summer Training homepage

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