Write a short essay structure (introduction, body, conclusion). Write in your own words (it is not okay just to ‘change the words of someone else a little bit’)
of what the econometric results on the next slide tell us. Suppose a researcher uses survey microdata and estimates the following model of the correlates of life satisfaction in Canada:
LS = a + b1 Poor + b2 Rich + b3 Atlantic + b4 Female + u
| Coefficent | Standard Error | |
| Dummy = 1 if Poor | -1.500 | 0.15 |
| Dummy = 1 if Rich | 0.500 | 0.10 |
| Dummy=1 if Residence in Atlantic | 0.400 | 0.10 |
| Dummy=1 if Female | 0.250 | 0.250 |
| Intercept | 6.0 | 2.00 |
| R-squared = 0.2 | ||
LS is the respondent’s rating of life satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 10
Poor is a dummy variable = 1 if household income is less than 50% median equivalent income; = 0 otherwise
Rich is a dummy variable =1 if household income is in the top quintile of the equivalent income distribution; = 0 otherwise.
Points to include:
- What is the point of the model? (What is the underlying research question apparently being asked?)
- How do we interpret the estimated coefficients? (Which explanatory variables are statistically significant and how do you know? What are the effect sizes? What is being controlled?)
- What is the predicted life satisfaction for a poor man living in Atlantic Canada?
- What is the over-all goodness of fit?
Overall, if you were to tell a policy maker the ‘story’ indicated by the results, what would it be?
Write in your own words (it is not okay just to ‘change the words of someone else a little bit’)
You can still use in-text citation and include a bibliography if you make use of any reference materials in writing your essay
0 comments