Mastering 'Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect

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In contemporary econometric practice, the most widely-employed econometric tools are designed to capture specific causal relationships like the private-school earnings effect.

The authors present accessible, interesting examples–using data-heavy figures and graphic-style comics–to teach practitioners the intuition and statistical understanding they need to become masters of ‘metrics. Wielding econometric tools with skill and confidence, Mastering ‘Metrics uses data and statistics to illuminate the path from cause to effect. In the same spirit, we introduce instrumental variables as a method for solving compliance problems in a randomised natural experiment.

With an engaging, insightful style, Angrist and Pischke catch readers up on five powerful methods in this area. I still don’t understand things immediately through formulas, so coupling those with summaries at the end of each chapter was great. There is definitely an art to econometrics, but clouding econometrics in mysticism does more to protect the reputation of the teacher than it does to advance the student's learning. If the intention is for a wider audience and for a more diversified crowd, then the importance of leading readers onto the next issues is of supreme importance.

While the book caters to a rather niche audience, I appreciated the enthusiasm and humor the authors sprinkle throughout the pages to make the material accessible.

The promise of our approach to instruction is evident in the popularity of the Freakonomics franchise and in the sparkling new intro-to-economics principles book by Acemoglu, Laibson, and List (2015): their take on economics puts questions and evidence ahead of abstract models. The snippets are like the buzz generators - they are the interest makers - and this book could have gone a long long way in making 'Metrics fun! The authors present accessible, interesting examples--using data-heavy figures and graphic-style comics--to teach practitioners the intuition and statistical understanding they need to become masters of 'metrics.

On the merit of how much does the book intend to give the reader the details on these things is another issue. I suspect that the assumption is that the reader will next go pick up their other book "Mostly Harmless Econometrics" but that is never explicitly stated. The Population Bomb 123 Masters of 'Metrics: The Remarkable Wrights 139 Appendix: IV Theory 142 4 Regression Discontinuity Designs 147 4.Please note that audiobooks and ebooks purchased from this site must be accessed on the Princeton University Press app. Unfortunately, the book does not offer a more focused discussion of time series, given that this area is where causal reasoning is especially critical in finance.