Description: This is a joint seminar with the Economics department, taught by Professor Franklin from SPS and Professor Spady from the Economics department. The seminar will address a number of selected research topics in which methods employed in one discipline might usefully be transported to the other, or in which the same methods are used differently in each discipline. The focus will be on the substantive research questions addressed by means of the methods concerned and how the methods help or hinder in finding answers to these questions.

The exact contents of the course will be discussed in the first meeting ON OCTOBER 4th (SPS researchers note unusual date). The hope is to be able to focus on topics of special interest to researchers. Readings will generally be from journal articles accessible through the EUI library. However, there are readings that will be relevant whatever specific topics we address. One (which will be familiar to most economists and some SPS researchers) is Peter Kennedy, A Guide to Econometrics, 5th edition, Ch1-5 (omitting general and technical notes, the bulk of each chapter). The other is Eric Beinhocker’s The Origin of Wealth (we think everyone should want this for their personal library – it is currently on sale at Amazon.co.uk for 10 Euros and we could arrange a bulk purchase to reduce shipping costs – names to Mark Franklin please at or before the first meeting of the class). The Kennedy chapters should be read if possible before the first meeting.

Course requirements are one term paper, on a topic to be agreed with one of the two instructors, which would be graded by the other.