This introductory course, taught by Raj Chetty, shows how "big data" can be used to understand and solve some of the most important social and economic problems of our time.
The course gives students an introduction to frontier research in applied economics and social science that does not require prior coursework in Economics
or Statistics. Topics include equality of opportunity, education, health, the environment, and criminal justice.
In the context of these topics, the course provides an introduction to basic statistical methods and data analysis techniques,
including regression analysis, causal inference, quasi-experimental methods, and machine learning.
To learn more about the motivation for this new class, see this article.
Lecture Materials
| Description | Materials | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Syllabus | Syllabus (PDF, DOCX) | |
| Complete Set of 11 Lectures | Slides (ZIP) | Videos (YouTube) |
| Lecture 1 Introduction and the Geography of Upward Mobility |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 2 Policies to Improve Upward Mobility |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 3 Opportunity, Innovation, and Economic Growth |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 4 Higher Education |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 5 Primary Education |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 6 Do Charter Schools Work? |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 7 Improving Health Outcomes |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 8 The Economics of Health Care and Insurance |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 9 Social Costs of Climate Change and Pollution |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 10 Policies to Mitigate Climate Change |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |
| Lecture 11 Criminal Justice and Discrimination |
Slides (PDF, PPT) | Video (YouTube) |