Unit Guide

ETC2410
Introductory econometrics
Semester 2, 2016

Handbook link:
http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2016handbooks/units/index-byfaculty-bus.html

The information contained in this unit guide is correct at time of publication. The University has the
right to change any of the elements contained in this document at any time.

Last updated:15 Jul 2016

Table of contents
ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Table of contents
Unit handbook information

Synopsis

Mode of delivery

Workload requirements

Additional workload requirements

Unit relationships

Prerequisites

Prohibitions

Co-requisites

Chief Examiner

Unit Coordinator(s)
Academic overview

5
5

Learning outcomes

Teaching approach

Unit schedule
Assessment summary

6
6

Second marking

Return of final marks

Exam viewing

Assessment criteria

Assessment requirements

Hurdle requirements

Participation

Assessment tasks

Examination(s)

10

Referencing requirements

11

Assignment submission

11

Feedback

11

Learning resources

12

Required resources

12

Technological requirements

13

Q Manual
Prescribed text and readings
Other information
Policies

13
13
13
13

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Graduate Attributes Policy

13

Student Charter

14

Student Services

14

Monash University Library

14

Disability Support Services

14

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Unit handbook information

Synopsis
This unit introduces students to the empirical analysis of relationships between economic
variables. The approach is based on linear regression theory, and emphasises 'hands on' data
analysis. Topics studied will include properties of least squares estimators, hypothesis testing, the
choice of appropriate functional form, the use of dummy variables, issues around modelling survey
data and the problems of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and multicollinearity.

Mode of delivery
Clayton (Day)

Workload requirements
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per
semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study.
Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled
activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week.
Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning
and online engagement.

Additional workload requirements

Three and a half contact hours per week. 7 to 8 and a half hours of private study, reading and
preparation for the tutorials.

Unit relationships

Prerequisites
ETC1000 or must be enrolled in course 3822 or 4412 or 4439

Prohibitions
ETC2400, ETC3440, ECC2410

Co-requisites
None

Chief Examiner
Name:ProfessorFarshidVahid

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Name:ProfessorFarshidVahid
Campus:Clayton
Phone:+61 3 990 52359
Email:Farshid.Vahid@monash.edu

Unit Coordinator(s)
Name:ProfessorFarshidVahid
Campus:Clayton
Email:Farshid.Vahid@monash.edu
Phone:+61 3 990 52359
Contact hours:Tuesdays 2pm to 4pm

Name:MrJohnStapleton
Campus:Clayton
Email:John.Stapleton@monash.edu
Phone:+61 3 990 52348
Contact hours:TBA

Academic overview
Learning outcomes
The learning goals associated with this unit are to:
1. understand and derive the properties of ordinary least squares in summation and matrix
notation
2. interpret, evaluate and apply inferential methods to multiple linear regression
3. understand the use and implications of data scaling, functional form and dummy variables
in regression modelling
4. identify the presence of heteroscedasticity, adjust OLS standard errors and perform
feasible GLS in regression models
5. understand issues related to modelling with time-series data.

Teaching approach
A mixture of lectures, tutorials, active and peer assisted learning.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Unit schedule
Students should note that the program outlined below is a guide to the material to be covered in
this unit and not a definitive statement of when that material will be covered. Specific details
relating to the timing will be discussed in class.

Week

Activities

Assessment
No formal assessment or activities
are undertaken in week 0

Overview of the unit - A selective review of

statistical concepts: conditional distributions

Regression - The OLS estimator: Definition and

Geometry

Regression - Properties of OLS

Regression - Inference

Multiple regression - Dummy variables

Multiple regression - Dummy variables,

functional forms

Regression specification and interpretation

Properties of stationary time series

Forecasting stationary time series

10

Properties of the OLS estimator with time

series data

11

Testing for autocorrelation, time series with

deterministic trends

12

Revision

Assignment 2 due

SWOT VAC

No formal assessment is undertaken

SWOT VAC

Examination period

LINK to Assessment Policy:

http://policy.monash.edu.au/policybank/
academic/education/assessment/
assessment-in-coursework-policy.
html

Class test

Assignment 1 due

Assessment summary
Within semester assessment: 40% + Examination: 60%

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Assessment task

Value

Due date

In-semester test

10% of final
mark

Tuesday 30 August

Group Assignment 1

10% of final
mark

TBA

Group Assignment 2

10% of final
mark

TBA

Participation in on-line learning

activities

10% of final
mark

Every week from week 2 to week

11

Final Examination

60% of final
mark

To be advised

A students final mark is normally the sum of the marks obtained in all of the individual assessment
items in the unit.

Second marking
Where an assessment task is given a fail grade by an examiner, that piece of work will be marked
again by a second examiner who will independently evaluate the work, and consult with the first
marker. No student will be awarded a fail grade for an assessment task or unit without a second
examiner confirming the result.
Note: Exceptions to this are individual pieces of assessment contributing 10% or less of the final
mark, unless the total of such pieces exceeds 30% of the final mark.

Return of final marks

Faculty policy states that 'the final mark that a student receives for a unit will be determined by the
Board of Examiners on the recommendation of the Chief Examiner taking into account all aspects
of assessment'.
The final mark for this unit will be released by the Board of Examiners on the date nominated in the
Faculty Calendar. Student results will be accessible through the my.monash portal.

Exam viewing
Feedback on student performance in examinations and other end-of-semester assessment is
required. The feedback should be in accordance with the University's procedures on Unit
Assessment. Details of the examination script viewing arrangements set down by the Faculty of
Business and Economics are available athttp://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/esg/agu/policies
/feedback-exam-performance.html

Assessment criteria
Full details relating to the assessment requirements for this unit are available on Moodle and will
be discussed in class on Day One.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Assessment Criteria Grading Descriptors available at:

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

Assessment requirements
Hurdle requirements
Your final mark will be the sum of the marks gained in all pieces of assessment except that to pass
this unit you must achive at least 40% in the final exam. Where you achive less than 40% in the
final exam your maximum final mark will be 48%.

Participation
Continuous study and participation are essential for success in this unit. The material in each week
builds up on the topics covered in its previous weeks. An important source of learning in this unit is
"peer assisted learning," which means students helping each other to learn. All students are
encouraged to post their questions on the unit's discussion forum on moodle, and all students are
encouraged to reply to questions. The teaching team will make sure that every question will
receive a correct and adequate response. The teaching team will not reply to any questions that
are sent to them via e-mail. Up to 5 bonus points are available for students who respond correctly
to questions via the discussion forum and receive positive feedback from the posers and the
teaching team.

Assessment tasks
Assessment task title:In-semester test
Due Date:Tuesday 30 August
Weighting/Value:10% of final mark
Details of Task:Multiple choice test based on lecture material from Weeks 1-4.
Release date:N/A
Word limit:N/A
Presentation requirements:N/A
Estimated return date:Within 2 weeks after the test
Hurdle requirements:N/A
Criteria for marking:1 point for a correct answer, 0 point for an incorrect answer.
Learning objectives assessed:

understand the nature of data in economics and business

understand the difference between predictive and prescriptive analysis
understand and derive the properties of ordinary least squares in summation and matrix
notation
understand the foundations of a simple hypothesis test

Submission details:The test will be administered in the evening on Tuesday 30 August from 6:
30pm to 7:30pm in Rotunda lecture theatres.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

30pm to 7:30pm in Rotunda lecture theatres.

Penalties for late lodgement:There will be no make-up test for the students who miss this test for
any reason. For students who miss the test for a valid university accepted reason as listed in
http://www.monash.edu/exams/changes/special-considerationor with prior permission of the Chief
Examiner, the final exam will count as 70% of the total mark.
Assessment coversheet:N/A
Additional information:The test will be closed book and will not require the use of a calculator.
Students will be asked to mark the correct answers on the question sheet.

Assessment task title:Group Assignment 1

Due Date:TBA
Weighting/Value:10% of final mark
Details of Task:Based on lecture material from Weeks 1-5.
Students will be dividedin groups of at most 5within each tutorial after week 3. Each group is
expected to work together on all parts of the assignment, and submit one report for the group.
Groups will be asked to attach aone page document with theminutes of their meetings totheir
assignments. There will be procedures to make sure that all group members contribute to the
assignment and to rearrange a group thatproves to be dysfunctional.

Release date:TBA
Word limit:N/A
Presentation requirements:All questions that require written answers must be answered in
complete sentences in English and must be spell-checked before submission. All notation and
abbreviations used must be defined, and all graphs must have clearly labelled axes.
Estimated return date:Marked assignments will be returned in tutorials within 3 weeks of the due
date. You must keep this copy of your assignment until after your result for the subject has been
finalised.
Hurdle requirements:N/A
Criteria for marking:To obtain full marks, the answers must be correct, complete and well
composed.
Learning objectives assessed:interpret, evaluate and apply inferential methods to linear
regression andunderstand the use and implications of data scaling, functional form and dummy
variables in regression modelling.
Submission details:Each group will submit one report only both in hard copy and electronically.
Only the hard copy will be marked.
Penalties for late lodgement:Late submission of assignments attracts a penalty of 10% of the total
mark per working day.
Assessment coversheet:This coversheet is available on the Unit's assignments page on Moodle
Additional information:N/A

Assessment task title:Group Assignment 2

Due Date:TBA
Weighting/Value:10% of final mark
Details of Task:Based on lecture material from Weeks 1-10.
Release date:TBA
Word limit:N/A
Presentation requirements:All questions that require written answers must be answered in
complete sentences in English and must be spell-checked before submission. All notation and
abbreviations used must be defined, and all graphs must have clearly labelled axes.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

abbreviations used must be defined, and all graphs must have clearly labelled axes.
Estimated return date:Marked assignments will be returned in tutorials within 3 weeks of the due
date. You must keep this copy of your assignment until after your result for the subject has been
finalised.
Hurdle requirements:N/A
Criteria for marking:To obtain full marks, the answers must be correct, complete and well
composed.
Learning objectives assessed:understand issues related to modelling with time-series data.
Submission details:Each group will submit one report only both in hard copy and electronically.
Only the hard copy will be marked.
Penalties for late lodgement:Late submission of assignments attracts a penalty of 10% of the total
mark per working day.
Assessment coversheet:This coversheet is available on the Unit's assignments page on Moodle
Additional information:N/A

Assessment task title:Participation in on-line learning activities

Due Date:Every week from week 2 to week 11
Weighting/Value:10% of final mark
Details of Task:For each week from week 2 to week 11, a participation activity will be posted on
moodle section for that week. These activities are in the form of lessons, quizzes or readings from
the textbook and answering questions. While a mark will be recorded to show you how well you
answered the questions, that mark will only be for your information. Completing the participation
task will earn you 1 point for that week.
Release date:Beginning of each week
Word limit:N/A
Presentation requirements:N/A
Estimated return date:N/A
Hurdle requirements:N/A
Criteria for marking:Completing the task each week before the end of that week will earn 1
participation point for that week. There will be ten participation tasks, one for each week from week
2 to week 11, for a total of 10 points.
Learning objectives assessed:Review of the first year statistics needed for this unit and
consolidation of learning of material in previous weeks.
Submission details:Electronic lessons and quizzes via moodle.
Penalties for late lodgement:Unless otherwise stated on the moodle preamble to a participation
task, each week's participation task must be completed by the end of that week.
Assessment coversheet:N/A
Additional information:N/A

Examination(s)
Title:Final Examination
Weighting:60% of final mark
Length:2 hours
Type (open/closed book):Closed book
Hurdle requirements (where applicable):You must achieve at least 40% in the final exam. Where
you achieve less than 40% in the final exam your maximum final mark will be 48%.
Electronic devices allowed in the exam:Faculty approved HPbii+ calculator
Exam details:Students are allowed to bring one A4 sheet with hand-written notes on both sides.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Exam details:Students are allowed to bring one A4 sheet with hand-written notes on both sides.
These must be hand-written, not typed and cannot be a photocopy or a scanned copy.

Referencing requirements
To build your skills in citing and referencing, and using different referencing styles, see the online
tutorial Academic Integrity: Demystifying Citing and Referencing athttp://www.lib.monash.edu
/tutorials/citing/

Assignment submission
Hard Copy Submission:
Assignments must include a cover sheet. The coversheet is accessible via the Monash portal page
located at http://my.monash.edu under the heading Learning and teaching tools.
Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.
Hard copies must be submitted via the assignment box located outside of the Department of
Econometrics and Business Statistics reception on the east wing of the seventh floor of the
Menzies building on the Clayton campus. Each group needs to submit only one hard copy of the
assignment.
Online Submission:
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the Moodle
site or other; as directed by your tutor for this unit.
Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.
Each group should also submit one electronic copy of the group assignment via moodle. One
submission by the group captain is sufficient. This will be for book-keeping purposes. Only the
hard-copy will be marked.

Feedback
Our feedback to you
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:

Formal individual feedback on assignments expressed as a letter grade

Answers to ask questions relating to the discipline or the units work
Advice about seeking additional help to develop your writing or research skills
Informal feedback relating to class activities

Your feedback to us

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Your feedback to us
One of the formal ways students have to provide feedback on teaching and their learning
experience is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The feedback
is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied with
and areas for improvement.
Previous student evaluations of this unit
In response to the last SETU of this unit, the following changes have been made:
We have introduced group assignments and increased the volume of on-line learning resources to
encourage active and peer assisted learning in this unit, and also to facilitate more timely
feedback.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp

Learning resources
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit):
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

Required resources
Students generally must be able to complete the requirements of their course without the
imposition of fees that are additional to the student contribution amount or tuition fees. However,
students may be charged certain incidental fees or be expected to make certain purchases to
support their study. For more information about this, refer to the Higher Education Administrative
Information for Providers, Chapter 18, Incidental Fees athttp://education.gov.au/help-resourcesproviders
It is very important to have hands on practice to understand the concepts. The software that we
use (EViews) is on all machines in the BusEco computer labs (first floor of the Menzies building).
However, if you prefer to work on the problems and assignmentsat home rather than the 1st floor
student computer labs, then you would be best to consider buying a copy of EViews.
There are 3options for obtaininga copy of EViews:

1. Student Version Lite is free. But it has limitations. It does not allow you to save your work.
However, you can print every equation that you estimate. It has also limitation on the number of
series and number of observations that you can work on.

2. Student Version is US$40, and gives you a licence for 2 years. You can work on any data set
with any number of observations, but you can only save your work if there are less than 1500
observations.

3. Purchase the full version of EViews. This will cost around $165. You can purchase a copy
through the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics Office, East Wingcorridor Level
7, Menzies Building.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

Eviews is available for both PC and Mac. We make sure that the assignments and tutorial
questions do not involve data sets with more than 1500 observations. Eviews is also used in Time
Series ETC3450 and Financial Econometrics ETC3460. If you are proficient in any other statistical
software (e.g. SAS, SPSS, STATA, R), you can use that instead, but then you should not expect
the teaching team to answer yoursoftware related questions.

Technological requirements
Virtual learning environment (VLE): Moodle
Material used in class together with other information of importance to you will be published online
viathe units Moodle site. In order to access information about this unit in Moodle you must be
enrolled inthe unit and have a valid student account with authcate username and password.
Moodle can be accessed through my.monash portal byclickingon the Moodle link under Online
systems. If you need some helpwith Moodle then check out the Moodle Support for Students
page.

Q Manual
Work submitted for assessment must be consistent with the guidelines set down in the Q Manual,
which is the faculty's student guide for producing quality work on time. Copies of this manual can
be purchased at the bookshop or accessed online athttp://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/qmanual
/qmanual.pdf

Prescribed text and readings

"Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach", by Jeffrey M.Wooldridge, 6th Edition, 2015. The
lecture notes follow this textbook closely. You will be disadvantaging yourself if you do not have a
copy of this textbook that you can bring to tutorials and read outside of class. Also the same
textbook (Part 3 of it) is used in "Applied Econometrics" ETC3410.

Other information
Policies
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that
staff and students are aware of the University's academic standards, and to provide advice on how
they might uphold them. You can find Monash's Education Policies at:
http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html

Graduate Attributes Policy

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/management/monash-graduate-

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/management/monash-graduateattributes-policy.html

Student Charter
www.monash.edu/students/policies/student-charter.html

Student Services
The University provides many different kinds of services to help you gain the most from your
studies.Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available atwww.
monash.edu/students
You can also access important information from the Faculty of Business and Economics current
students pagehttp://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/student/
Caulfield and Clayton students wishing to further develop English language skills in a fun group
environment can join a Conversational English Program. You can access these programs at
http://www.monash.edu/students/conversational-english/

Monash University Library

The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable
you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research.
Go tohttp://www.monash.edu/libraryor the library tab inmy.monashportal for more information.

Disability Support Services

Students who have a disability, ongoing medical or mental health condition are welcome to contact
Disability Support Services.
Disability Support Services also support students who are carers of a person who is aged and frail
or has a disability, medical condition or mental health condition.
Disability Advisers visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis.

Website:http://monash.edu/disability
Email:disabilitysupportservices@monash.edu

Copyright Monash University 2016. All rights reserved. Except as provided in the Copyright Act 1968, this work may
not be reproducedin any form without the written permission of the host Faculty and School/Department.

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ETC2410 Introductory econometrics - Semester 2 - 2016