Remote Policy Evaluation Methods course

The Institute for Fiscal Studies was founded in 1969. Established as an independent research institute, IFS was launched with the principal aim of better informing public debate on economics in order to promote the development of effective fiscal policy. Through the establishment of rigorous independent research, for example the IFS Green Budget and Post Budget analysis, IFS successfully opened up debate about public policy to a wider audience and influenced policy decision making.Today, IFS is Britain’s leading independent microeconomic research institute. Its research remit is one of the broadest in public policy analysis, covering subjects from tax and benefits to education policy, from labour supply to corporate taxation. Our research not only has an impact on policy makers, think tanks and practitioners, it has also gained a worldwide reputation for academic rigour, and contributes to the development of academic scholarship. We communicate our research widely on a national and international scale, providing independent advice to policy makers in the UK, Europe and in developing countries; collaborating with world renowned academics on new economic theories and techniques; and disseminating our research globally through the press, media and the web.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Please note the dates for this course: June 6 – 27, 2022 for self-paced study, June 28 – 30, 2022 for the 3 live days.

Speaker: Barbara Sianesi<a href="https://www.cemmap.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BarbaraSianesi_CV_short.pdf" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">TRAINER’S BIO</a>COURSE OVERVIEW The course covers research design principles and all main quantitative evaluation methods: randomised experiments, instrumental variables, sharp and fuzzy regression discontinuity designs, regression methods, matching methods and longitudinal methods (before-after, difference-in-differences and synthetic controls).The lectures present the material at different levels to cater for different backgrounds (e.g. intuition, optional formal derivations, in-depth discussion, examples), while the live classes, after a quick summary of each topic, are devoted to answering questions, as well as to implementing each evaluation method hands-on on real data in guided practicals.FORMAT OF THE COURSEThe Remote PEM Course consists of a mix between self-paced study and live online meetings:PART 1) 21.5 hours of pre-recorded lectures. Participants will receive access to the lecture videos for three weeks prior to the course to go through them at their own pace. Note while the videos continue to be accessible for an additional three weeks starting from the live classes, it is highly recommended that participants have finished watching the lectures before the live meetings, which are devoted to questions and hands-on practical work.PART 2) 13.5 hours of live sessions split over 3 days consisting of•	A summary/recap of each topic, taking questions relating to that topic•	Time for participants to work on the corresponding guided practical on their own or in breakout rooms•	Barbara going through and discussing that practical live using StataA rough breakdown of the live sessions:	Day 1	Day 2	Day 310.00	Evaluation ProblemNaive Estimator 	Instrumental Variables cont.RDD – sharp	Matching Methods Before-After11.30	Break	Break	Break11.45	Randomised Experiments 	RDD – fuzzy 	Difference-in-Differences13.15	Break	Break	Break13.45	Instrumental Variables	Regression Methods	Synthetic Control Method15.15	End of day 	End of day	End of dayPLEASE NOTE•	To participate in the remote course you will need Zoom.•	To be able to work on the practical part on your own (during the live sessions and/or later in your own time) you will need Stata or R.COURSE CONTENTThis course deals with the econometric and statistical tools that have been developed to estimate the causal impact on one or more outcomes of interest of any generic ‘treatment’ – from policy interventions in the labour market, health reforms and educational programs, to the returns to education, or the impact of smoking on own and children’s health.For a successful evaluation it is however not enough to be able to draw on a wide range of approaches and to implement them impeccably. What is also and foremost needed is the establishment of a sound study design. For this reason, design elements, issues and principles are emphasised, exemplified and discussed throughout the course.After highlighting the ‘Evaluation Problem’ and the challenges it poses, we first discuss how traditional statistical methods and in particular the ‘naive estimator’ may fail to deal with it appropriately, before considering in detail the main empirical methods for estimating causal effects:•	Randomised experiments•	Natural experiments or instrumental variables•	Regression Discontinuity Design (sharp and fuzzy)•	Regression analysis•	Matching methods•	Before-after•	Difference-in-differences•	Synthetic control methodEach of these approaches is explained at different levels, following a common structure:(a)	give the basic intuition drawing from example applications in the literature,(b)	discuss the assumptions needed for its validity,(c)	highlight the question it answers,(d)	formally show how the assumptions allow the identification of the parameter of interest,(e)	discuss in-depth the strengths and weaknesses of the method,(f)	provide a ‘take-away’ checklist, and(g)	implement the approach ‘hands-on’ on real data in a practical session. The lectures cover (a)-(f) and the live classes (g).LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the end of the course, participants will have a practical understanding of the ideas underpinning the evaluation literature, as well as of the main quantitative evaluation methods. In particular, they will be able to:•	frame a variety of micro-econometric problems into the evaluation framework, and be aware of the concomitant methodological and modelling issues;•	be discerning users of econometric output – able to interpret the results of applied work in the evaluation literature and to assess its strengths and limitations;•	access the evaluation literature to further deepen knowledge on their own;•	choose the appropriate evaluation method and strategy to estimate causal effects in different contexts; and•	use simple statistical packages (like Stata or R) to implement the different evaluation methods to real data.LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIREDThis is an intermediate-level course on quantitative empirical methods for policy evaluation. As such, familiarity with basic formal notation, basic statistical concepts (e.g. conditional expectation, significance testing) and basic econometric tools (like OLS and probit regression) is recommended. Note however that all formal parts are optional and followed by intuitive, formulae-free “take-away points”.On the other hand, while offering an in-depth and thorough overview and discussion of the various evaluation methods, this is not an advanced course at the post-graduate level. Most emphasis is devoted to understanding the issues, to the choice of the most appropriate method for a given context and to the implementation of evaluation methods in practice. The practical, hands-on part of the course requires the use of statistical software. The course relies mainly on Stata, as the guided exercises provide syntax and additional tips for Stata, and we will go through and discuss together each exercise making use of Stata. As with the lectures, however, the aim is to make this hands-on part widely accessible to participants with different backgrounds and interests:•	For those new to or not familiar with Stata, a short handout and a video tutorial highlight all that’s needed to know about this package in order to be able to do the guided practicals. •	Commands to solve the practicals are provided also in R, for those who prefer to use R when working on the exercises on their own. (Note that in some cases the commands in R and Stata will not be doing exactly the same thing; what is however important is to understand the basic principles underlying the implementation of a given evaluation method and what to look out for in terms of implementation details and output). •	Finally, solutions in the form of Stata ‘do-files’ and R scripts are shared in advance for those who would like to take a peek if stuck at any point, or who prefer to just run the full solution file and focus on interpreting the resulting output.Note also that while participants have often come from a range of backgrounds and have reported enjoying the course, the examples and discussions come from a mostly (labour) economics perspective.BACKGROUND READINGNo preparatory reading is required as the course does not assume prior knowledge of evaluation methods and issues.Some past participants have however found it useful to scan the following paper in advance of the course to get an idea of the issues, notation and more generally some of the material:Blundell, R., Dearden, L. and Sianesi, B. (2005), “Evaluating the Effect of Education: Models, Methods and Results from the National Child Development Survey”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 168, 473-512. IFS Working Paper.Alternatively, a gentle introduction to evaluation issues and methods is offered by Ravallion, M. (1999), “The Mystery of the Vanishing Benefits: Ms. Speedy Analyst’s Introduction to Evaluation”, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2153

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Remote Policy Evaluation Methods course

More events from Institute for Fiscal Studies

Follow organisers to get events picked for you

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Remote Policy Evaluation Methods course

More events from Institute for Fiscal Studies

Follow organisers to get events picked for you

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.