Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach

Abstract

My motivation for writing the first edition of Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach was that I saw a fairly wide gap between how econometrics is taught to undergraduates and how empirical researchers think about and apply econometric methods. I became convinced that teaching introductory econometrics from the perspective of professional users of econometrics would actually simplify the presentation, in addition to making the subject much more interesting. Based on the positive reactions to earlier editions, it appears that my hunch was correct. Many instructors, having a variety of backgrounds and interests and teaching students with different levels of preparation, have embraced the modern approach to econometrics espoused in this text. The emphasis in this edition is still on applying econometrics to real-world problems. Each econometric method is motivated by a particular issue facing researchers analyzing nonexperimental data. The focus in the main text is on understanding and interpreting the assumptions in light of actual empirical applications: the mathematics required is no more than college algebra and basic probability and statistics.