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Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Book Description
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an econo-mist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn conventional wisdom on its head.
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They usually begin with a mountain of data and a simple question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of . . . well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Klu Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a great deal of complexity and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and—if the right questions are asked—is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
Download Description
"
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But
Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author
Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In
Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But
Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
"
Customer Reviews:
Mind blowing .......2007-10-02
This book changed the way I think about economics, while being entertaining and fun. Highly recommended!
Dumbed Down Levitt.......2007-09-27
I saw Steven Levitt (the economist) on CSPAN Book-TV. He was intelligent, incisive & insightfull and presented his information clearly with a wry sense of humor. I very much anticipated reading this book. What a disappointment! Clearly the book was written by Dubner, not Levitt, and it's origins as a Sunday magazine profile are too apparent. The sharp intelligence and clear ideas are made fuzzy by Dubner's generic, puffy non-fiction writing techniques. This is not to say this book is without merit. Levitt's ideas manage to shine throught the murk of Dubner's writing. But if you want to get a clearer picutre of Levitt and his thinking, go to the C-SPAN Book-TV archives and watch the show with Steven Levitt discussing the book.
I hope that next time Levitt and/or his publisher will have the confidence to have him write a popular, non-academic book on his own and won't feel the need to hire a "professional" to translate his ideas to a popular audience. His ideas need simple clarity, not fancy dressing up.
Spray-Painted Fruit.......2007-09-25
"Freakonomics" has all the elements of great nonfiction. It approaches old subjects in new ways. It combines a "rogue" economist's out-of-the-box thinking with the concise work of a disciplined writer. A quick read, it also challenges Americans to think for themselves--now there's a real accomplishment!
Levitt and Dubner make some interesting points about our education system, medical and parental fears, and racial divides. They never claim to tie all these insights into a cohesive treatise, although they do meander back and forth over unifying themes of what motivates us as human beings and what causes us to buy into collective myths. For years, I've observed the lemming effect in our society, usually driven by the media, and by the average person's seeming inability to override knee-jerk fears with a small dollop of logic. Raising my own children, I heard the flip-flopping of the experts: "Babies should sleep on their backs...their bellies...their sides...in your bed...in their own bed..." ad nauseum.
"Freakonomics" has worthy goals. It reaches them on many levels. On the other hand, it is marketed toward those who already see through these societal deceits. It's not high-minded enough to satisfy those seeking true "rogue" economics, and it's not accessible enough for those nominative readers who might benefit from it the most. Also, on a number of occasions, it draws from a hodgepodge of statistics and extrapolates theories that, while very reasonable, are not proven here with any certainty. And yet we are expected to believe them, even while the same authors are telling us to stop believing such extrapolations from other "experts."
For a book that'll cause you to reconsider certain "established" norms" and to carry on lively discussions, "Freakonomics" is a wonderful coffee table addition. I was disappointed, though, in its overall lack of depth. Most of the subjects addressed are ones I, as a regular individual, have questioned on basic principles of logic in the first place. I didn't need a "rogue" economist for this, or a catchy title. I could've extracted the same tidbits from a decent magazine article by the same pair.
An apple is an apple is an orange. Yes, there are some nutrients in this tasty book, but the authors, like many grocers, have spray-painted the fruit to appear a bit more delectable than it actually is.
This book makes economics entertaining.......2007-09-23
Think you won't be entertained by a book about economics? Think again. Reduced to its essence, economics is about people's response to incentives. This book abounds with examples that you probably aren't accustomed to thinking of as economics. The author excels at analyzing mounds of data and extracting nuggets of wisdom from it. He even steps you through a couple of them, though once he's sure you've got the idea he sticks to giving you the pertinent information. After reading this book I became aware of how economics permeates human interactions.
Boring and pedantic to listen to on CD........2007-09-20
I couldn't make it past the second chapter even though the stories and ideas were engaging. As an audio product, the narrator repeats himself too many times and recaps and re-summarizes again and again. It's hard to listen to. If you're kind of slow, this CD may be just your speed. If you're sharp, you will be bored out of your skin. Perhaps an abridged version would be easier to sit through. It's too watered down and repetitive - at least as an audio version where you can't skim to avoid the redundancy.
Book Description
Gain the statistical tools and techniques you need to understand today's financial markets with the Second Edition of this critically acclaimed book.
Youll find a comprehensive and systematic introduction to financial econometric models and their applications in modeling and predicting financial time series data. This edition continues to emphasize empirical financial data and focuses on real-world examples. Youll master key aspects of financial time series, including volatility modeling, neural network applications, market microstructure and high-frequency financial data, continuous-time models and Ito's Lemma, Value at Risk, multiple returns analysis, financial factor models, and econometric modeling via computation-intensive methods.
This is an ideal textbook for MBA students and a key reference for researchers and professionals in business and finance. Order your copy today.
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Analysis of Financial Time Series, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to current financial econometric models and their applications to modeling and prediction of financial time series data. It utilizes real-world examples and real financial data throughout the book to apply the models and methods described. The author begins with basic characteristics of financial time series data before covering three main topics: analysis and application of univariate financial time series; the return series of multiple assets; and Bayesian inference in finance methods.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent and detailed reference.......2007-05-03
The coverage of the topic is broad and deep. It is one of the few introductory books that devotes some space to transfer function modeling and does so intelligibly.
A must have for the novice as well as those more familiar with the topic that need a solid reference.
The best for Masters level, great all-around.......2007-02-12
This text is absolutely perfect for Masters students learning financial econometrics. There is a little theory, clear explanations, and quite a few real world examples. (I don't think any text would tell the reader what model to use when, because that's application-specific.) It assumes some knowledge of finance and basic econometrics/statistics, which is fair enough. To get more theory, Hamilton (1994) remains the authority, and Campbell, Lo, MacKinlay (1997) is a great introduction for PhD students, and generally an ideal companion volume to this one.
Excellent reference!.......2006-11-05
This book is an excellent toolbox for anyove dealing in the field of financial engineering, however, as a real toolbox, the author doesn't explain the exact use of all tools and how to interpret the results. This is why this book is for advanced users who need a well documented reference but it is not very suitable for beginners in the field. The Splus code is welcome.
Broad coverage, but not for the faint-hearted.......2006-07-05
Written by a University of Chicago professor, this book comprehensively covers times series topics relative to investment and trading-oriented finance (i.e., Wall Street money-making machines). Treatment is generally clear and thorough, but an advanced math and stat background is an absolute prerequisite for understanding the materials.
S-Plus/R code is given, but strangely, there is very little on *why* and
*when* one uses each of the techniques. Under what cirmcustances should I use or not use GARCH? What exactly is PCA good for in real-world applications? These important questions are not answered, in other words, you don't get a sense of the real-world context for these topics.
Best textbook I have ever read .......2005-09-19
First of all, it is well written in a very practical point of view. The whole book is aimed fullly to real financial data(appended in the author's web). People can gain not only the well-explained theories but the hand-on experience with data analysis using SPLUS or any other package.
Secondly, the author is a real expert in this field and has been publishing lots of nice work. All models in the book are clearly illustrated and commented.
Thirdly, it covers a lot of topics in analysis of FT. Reader can learn almost all the valuable things in this field from this book.
If anyone wanna truly learn this book, she/he has to sit down and plays some real data on computer. I think this is the best way and the only way to use this book.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-02-25
Really good advanced Econometrics Text. Anyone with a basic background in statistics, econometrics and matrix algebra will benefit greatly.
Not an easy book.......2006-12-19
Be warned. If you are buying this book for your first class in graduate-level econometrics, I suggest you also look around for another book or two to give you a different (easier) take on this material.
Encylopedic Treatment of Econometrics.......2005-08-21
If you have taken a course in econometrics, this is one of the best econometrics references that you can have on your bookshelf. There is ample discussion on linear regression models and all the required concepts from mathematical statistics that are needed. It just hits on time series and panel data, but clearly those are topics for two different books altogether. This book gets updated frequently and the format is reorganized to make things easier to understand. However, some times the reorganization does not work for the best.
Good book for graduate students.......2005-08-21
This is a good advanced book in econometrics. I would definitely not recommend it to undergrad students unless they are really comfortable with matrix algebra and statistics. It is not an introductory book, but, if the reader has already taken some econometrics courses and needs a more advanced text, this book is very useful, especially for graduate students. It is particularly good at explaining concepts in a way that slightly easier books do not. I use Greene's book as a reference and I have personally contacted William Greene to ask him some questions and he is very friendly and willing to help. I would only suggest using another book for understanding time series since Greene's coverage on that is not great.
not what was promised by the seller.......2005-07-05
The book was advertised with CD, i received no CD in it. When i contacted abebook, they send me e-mail that i have to complain to amazon.
Book Description
Succeed in econometrics with INTRODUCTORY ECONOMETRICS and its accompanying resources! Easy-to-read and student-friendly, this economics text places an emphasis on examples that give a concrete reality to economic relationships. With study tools found throughout the text, exam preparation and class projects have never been easier. Coverage of important knowledge used for empirical work and carrying out research projects in a variety of applied social science fields gives you a solid foundation for social science research.
Customer Reviews:
Great Exposition, but Poor Notation.......2007-09-27
Great introduction to the subject, but the notation is poor. By presenting the material without matrix algebra, the multiple regression analysis becomes a convoluted mess of summation notation. Additionally, matrix notation is adopted in more advanced texts, making in beneficial to learn from the start.
A very good book.......2007-02-26
Wooldridge's explanations are clear and useful. After a semester hacking my way through the dense brush of matrices in Greene's book, I realized I needed some help. Now I go to Wooldridge's treatment first, to make sure I understand the main concepts. Then I go to Greene for the detail, if I need to.
Great for Self-studying.......2006-12-04
This books is excellent read. It builds good intuition, and is well suited for self-studying. It is also not too mathematical, no matrix notation, good for undergraduate students or as a review for graduate students. I can truly recommmend it.
Excellent for cross-sectional but needs complements for time series.......2006-12-01
As the author says, the book is "aimed at undergraduates but it is adaptable to master's students". It will provide you with excellent and extensive real life explanations. What is better about this book is that you can redo every example in the book by using the online data that it provides with. This was it is easier what happens by experimenting. In that sense this book is superior to many others where you cannot see how the results of estimations came about.
There is only one thing to take into account. Although there are three parts to this book, the shortest one is time series. Its coverage will is therefore not very comprehensive if you want basic explanations like the VAR, GARCH models etc...
In that case, I would recommend the book New Directions in Econometric Practice by Wojciech W. Charemza.
Wooldridge is best.......2005-10-03
Wooldridge is best (review refers to 2nd edition).
You don't need any other book to start intermediate econometrics or indeed econometrics at all once you know a little first-year statistics; the Amazon reviewers who prefer Gujarati or others are living in the dead past: W is better and easier and leaves very little out that G covers.
Ignore the tempting "dumbing down" implications of the publishers' advertising material whether filtered by Amazon or not; they don't need to sell the book because it's used all over the world in the best places and just walks out of the store. He dumbs down not at all or else, occasionally, very successfully.
The only possible alternative at this level (in fact well below) is Stock and Watson but they don't make you do exercises on data, which I assure you is essential fun.
Of course if you don't like exercises you can also read Peter Kennedy's Guide and philosophise. I imagine that the next step up is Greene's semi-encyclopedia or Davidson and MacKinnon's newer or older books, unless you choose to jump into the literature as W helps you to do.
All of these books just introduce Time Series too slowly and too late: try Terence Mills' several books on various aspects: he has the rare talent of simplicity AND brevity. Perhaps W's next book will be on Time Series (on which he has published).
By the way, it is easy and great fun to find inappropriate analyses in almost any econometrics book if you use a good package: David Hendry's PcGive suite etc is especially quick for this purpose: a few clicks and the graphs show the nonsense. I sometimes think that the popularity of EViews with students is precisely because inappropriate analyses are easily hidden. More expert people than me use Stata, but I don't know ....
I loved Streakieblondie's review, but I must tell her and you all that the Schaum book (I spare the author's blushes) is a stinker, useful only for getting through bad exams set by lazy lecturers, though many Schaum books in well-established areas are excellent. Both W and S&W are high-class professionals who happen to know how to write text-books, and they have all three collaborated with Nobel Prizewinners: so go for quality. Why don't the publishers' reviews and materials say this rather than implying that they've made good new stuff trivially easy? In my view W has judged it better than S&W.
If you're VERY keen, Wooldridge's other book on panel data is just terrific (but some matrices Streakieblondie, though with lots of clever help).
Book Description
The last decade has brought dramatic changes in the way that researchers analyze economic and financial time series. This book synthesizes these recent advances and makes them accessible to first-year graduate students. James Hamilton provides the first adequate text-book treatments of important innovations such as vector autoregressions, generalized method of moments, the economic and statistical consequences of unit roots, time-varying variances, and nonlinear time series models. In addition, he presents basic tools for analyzing dynamic systems (including linear representations, autocovariance generating functions, spectral analysis, and the Kalman filter) in a way that integrates economic theory with the practical difficulties of analyzing and interpreting real-world data. Time Series Analysis fills an important need for a textbook that integrates economic theory, econometrics, and new results.
The book is intended to provide students and researchers with a self-contained survey of time series analysis. It starts from first principles and should be readily accessible to any beginning graduate student, while it is also intended to serve as a reference book for researchers.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book in time series.......2007-06-29
I don't think there is another book out ther that would outperform this book in time series econometrics. A must have if you are a graduate student in economics.
No complaints. .......2007-02-14
No complaints. I received the book before deadline and book is same as descrition. 100% recomended seller
Absolutely Excellent (for what it is).......2007-02-06
Hamilton is often dubbed, "too hard to understand." That may be true, but actually it seems to be much more reasonable and readable than other econometrics texts I have attempted to read.
I would definitely not start out into econometrics with this book though. You probably will not be able to appreciate how good this book is until you have tried to read something as atrocious as Greene.
As is typical with almost every upper level econometrics book, it assumes you have a wide mathematical and statistical knowledge base that you may or may not have. I would not recommend it as a beginning graduate econometrics book but it is a great reintroduction to time series methods. I will say that I haven't found a single book yet in intermediate econometrics that I felt was written clearly or concisely.
Still, overall, this has been by far the best among the worst and I would highly recommend reading it to anyone who is beginning to study time series econometrics in some detail.
Awesome book for TS.......2006-03-06
If you are thinking of mastering TS this is the book to start with. Do not get intimidated however with all the symbols and notations, the author does a pretty good job explaining each and every equation. A seperate book is needed for application eg RATs handbook by Enders.
A review of Time Series Analysis.......2005-08-05
The book provides a good overview of the analysis of time series and it also gives a good treatise of the economitric background of the use of estimation methods.
Book Description
Econometrics: A Modern Introduction conditions students to think like econometricians right from the start by opening with a unique Monte Carlo exercise, and connects econometrics to economic theory through a series of exemplary econometric analyses presented throughout the text. Students learn to critically evaluate economic conclusions through the use of original data and compelling topics such as discrimination, demand for cocaine, capital punishment, and infant mortality.
Customer Reviews:
Worth the price.......2007-02-12
For those looking for the intuition behind econometrics, this textbook delivers. Not that there isn't any math, it is just that the understanding the theory is the priority. Obviously, a lot of work went into the refining the presentation, therefore we cannot begrudge the authour the rewards for his efforts.
Book Description
This graduate text provides an intuitive but rigorous treatment of contemporary methods used in microeconometric research. The book makes clear that applied microeconometrics is about the estimation of marginal and treatment effects, and that parametric estimation is simply a means to this end. It also clarifies the distinction between causality and statistical association.
The book focuses specifically on cross section and panel data methods. Population assumptions are stated separately from sampling assumptions, leading to simple statements as well as to important insights. The unified approach to linear and nonlinear models and to cross section and panel data enables straightforward coverage of more advanced methods. The numerous end-of-chapter problems are an important component of the book. Some problems contain important points not fully described in the text, and others cover new ideas that can be analyzed using tools presented in the current and previous chapters. Several problems require the use of the data sets located at the author's website.
Customer Reviews:
Everything people say is true, but..........2007-09-05
This book has no graphs - not one. As long there are no graphs or figures, this work will remain incomplete.
The missing link for cross section, panel data and program evaluation.......2007-06-02
This book fills a real gap for those who are interested in things like ATE, ATET and topics related to impact evaluation that are only talked about now in research papers. The explanations are very very clear and they walk you through the thinking process by which the different methods were developed. Of course, it has the traditional coverage of panel data and cross section but with the clarity that Wooldridge always delivers on his books. For all that, this is a perfect addition to your econometric libraries as it covers topics that are not discussed in traditional and introductory econometric books.
A comprehensive survey.......2007-05-12
This book provides an excellent overview about state-of-the-art methodologies in econometrics. Instead of other textbooks it stresses more on conditionals and explains potential problems with underlying assumptions in more detail. As I find it sometimes hard to orientate myself, I give 4 stars.
Very good coverage on cross-sectional, but not enough of panel data.......2006-08-18
This book does an excellent job in covering cross-sectional and microeconometric models (Stata codes for all examples in the book are available from UCLA's webside). However, the exposure to panel data is limited. For a theoretical overview of panel data econometrics, I'd recommend Hsiao and Baltagi. For applied work, Edward Frees wrote a good book, although his book is more from the social science perspective (SAS and Stata codes are provided).
The best? Not for me (and everyone I know)........2005-09-30
Clearly this product is overrated. In my opinion the book is a complete mess, with definitions, propositions and theorems mixed with the main text and not clearly evidenced from it.
It's funny, because the book uses a panoplia of bolds, italics, etc in the main text (well, there is only main text here) which I dislike and think is unnecessary, and then do not use it to evidence the important results. As a result I think this is probably the worst book that I can remember of for reference.
There are better books and it's almost impossible to get one worse than this one.
Book Description
This book explores econometrics using an intuitive approach that begins with an economic model. It emphasizes motivation, understanding, and implementation and shows readers how economic data are used with economic and statistical models as a basis for estimating key economic parameters, testing economic hypotheses and predicting economic outcomes.
Customer Reviews:
Very good for learning.......2004-02-16
This book is a shortened version of "Learning and Practising Econometrics (1993)", which itself is a shortened version of "The Theory and Practice of Econometrics (1982)".
Hill's "Undergraduate Econometrics" instills understanding by slowly going through derivations and principles, while at the same time motivating econometric analysis by referring to economic situations where it can be used. Much better than Gujarati (which tends to be a "cookery book" rather than giving an integrated treatment).
The book both motivates the student and takes them through the steps and methods they will need to adopt in further econometric studies, and always provides a good reference (often to one of the parent books mentioned above) when it omits proofs and other details.
The only weakness of the book reveals what is (to my mind) an unhealthy preoccupation with estimation issues, as opposed to those of data quality. As people like Granger have consistently pointed out, the real issues in 21st century econometrics have to do with what sort of data we have, and what methods are most appropriate in different situations. Despite this, Hill et al almost exclusively dwell on the identically and independently distributed (iid) specification. However, I should point out in the book's defence that this preoccupation is shared by most other introductory (and graduate) textbooks on econometrics.
The book's good points far outweigh these weaknesses. Finally, the second edition has some updates, and discusses such developments as time series econometrics. "Undergraduate Econometrics" should definitely be purchased by anyone wishing to learn about modern empirical methods.
Excellent intuition BUT A POOR BRIDGE TO THE DREADFUL GREENE.......2004-01-19
This book is the best book to use for the very first course in econometrics. It takes you by the hand to teach you all you need in terms of the basics.
I only give it 4 stars for two reasons. First, while this book is non-mathematical (and I agree with that) it should have nonetheless appendices that make use of matrices and differential calculus.
Second, this book is extremely expensive.
This book can easily earn 5 stars if in the next edition it contains appendices that will create a bridge towards intermediate econometrics. A more reasonable price would also be welcomed.
Overall, this is the best book to use for a very first course in econometrics.
BUT BEWARE: THIS BOOK IS A POOR BRIDGE TO THE DREADFUL GREENE!!!!THE BEST BRIDGE IS "LEARNING AND PRACTICING ECONOMETRICS" BY THE SAME AUTHOURS OF "UNDERGRADUATE ECOMETRICS" I.E. HILL, GRIFFITHS, AND JUDGE.
By the way, for those that are looking for a good substitue to "Undergraduate Econometrics", you have "Basic Econometrics" by Gujarati.
Thank you,
carter makes me not-so-afraid of metrics..........2002-01-02
this is one of those econometrics (i'll call it "metrics" from now on to save on typing) books which you know has to cover alot of the slow, boring stuff which lecturers expect students to know by the time they take metrics options and hated by undergraduates. having said that, this book does it quite well. one thing i hate in metrics texts is dense mathematical proofs. especially proofs which assume the reader knows other proofs intimately. this book nicely avoids that, dropping in an adequate and useful amount of proofs, especially the Gauss-Markov Theorem and a proof of why OLS estimation outshines any other method in simple regression analysis. the book does this without being overwhelming - in my opinion, mathematics has to be appreciated through discussion and argument, which Hill et al do quite admirably. Also, metrics is about interpretation of results, not just calculating them, and this book keeps that in mind very well from beginning to end. The reason i gave this book 4 stars is simple. when i was doing my last minute cramming for exams, i was able to move through the book quickly and easily, whilst still appreciating the main points, the big picture, and also the subtleties of more advanced topics like GLS, moments-based estimation and distributed lags in a short space of time. the book also comes with useful end-of-chapter "should know" points and problems. the best thing about the problems is the "real-world" nature of the tasks, often drawing on real-life data and economic intuition. using that data and being able to become comfortable with computer techniques is the most vital thing to a beneficial study of metrics. i found gujarati's "basic econometrics" a nice companion to this book (but then again everyone likes gujarati to some extent), but mostly i was satisfied with this book as a stand-alone manual to second-year metrics studies, good for laying the foundations for studies in topics like maximum likelihood estimation and financial econometrics. oh, and it's small and not too heavy. good for carrying around to classes all day!
A Nice Beginner's Textbook.......2000-03-03
This book begins with simple concepts and gradually introduces more complex methods at a pace that is very comfortable for self-study. It also can be used in a one-quarter course for undergraduates who have had basic courses in calculus and linear algebra. However, it doesn't give all proofs for the statistical theorems in the text.
Book Description
Designed for a first course in introductory econometrics, Introduction to Econometrics, reflects modern theory and practice, with interesting applications that motivate and match up with the theory to ensure students grasp the relevance of econometrics. Authors James H. Stock and Mark W. Watson integrate real-world questions and data into the development of the theory, with serious treatment of the substantive findings of the resulting empirical analysis.
Customer Reviews:
Good entry level book.......2007-05-29
This will be used for an entry graduate level, non-econ majors course in econometrics. The exposition is clear, logical and does not contain any math that is not absolutely required. Also contains examples without bogging down on them. It does not contain much mention of the software, but that may be on the associated website that I have not checked out.
Useless!!!.......2007-04-15
First and foremost, be aware if there are any reviews referring to "textbook", they are not for this "Cram 101 Textbook Outlines" which is supposed to be a textbook companion.
"Cram 101 Textbook Outlines" is useless!!! This is nothing but a bunch of glossary. And a half of the book is blank for writing notes. What a rip-off!!!
There's no outlines at all. No chapter summaries, no
explanation of concepts. Totally useless.
I have used "Collins College Outlines" series (I rate them 3 stars) and "Barron's Business Reviews" series (I rate them 5 stars).
Never buy any of "Cram 101 Textbook Outlines" series.
Technical notes: "Cram 101 Textbook Outlines" is POD (Print on demand). No wonder quality of printing is inferior (Looks like a xerox copy). And priced too high for this quality. For those who are not familiar with publishing industry--POD is used for ultra small quantity less than 100 copies. This is a telltale sign that book is not expected to sell minimum quantity (usually 3,000 copies) that commercial publisher is willing to
commit to publish. Simply put, POD means inferrior and
overpriced books. A work of amateur.
Terrible book, no examples, way too complicated.......2007-01-31
The Gujarati book is MUCH better. I re-read the chapters and still have no idea whats going on. DONT buy this book.
Great econometrics textbook for beginners!.......2007-01-09
It is clearly written and has a good level of detail. The very experienced authors were able to get the level right for beginners, while keeping precision and adding examples and current topics of interest even to more experienced users. Definitely a great buy!
Lacking in key areas.......2006-10-17
I found the book to be adequate in terms of how well-written it is, but lacking in many areas that keep it from getting anything higher than 3 stars.
My biggest gripe is that there are few examples. I really took this for granted, and didn't notice how important it was until they were taken out. In classes like math, you can easily get lost in all the notation in each formula. Examples are important because they show you how to use that formula in a real application. The book lacks examples, and this really makes it harder to understand what Stock and Watson are talkin about.
Another thing I'd like are answers to their problems. This is just useful so that you can check whether you are doing the problems at the end of the chapter right. Otherwise, you're completely clueless on how well you are doing.
Book Description
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the development and application of quantitative statistical methods to study choices made by individuals. This primer provides an introduction to the main techniques of choice analysis and also includes details on data collection and preparation, model estimation and interpretation and the design of choice experiments. A companion website offers practice data sets and software to apply modeling and data skills presented in the book.
Customer Reviews:
Everything you need to learn to carry out a choice model.......2005-10-17
This book is massive, and hence the term "primer" may be a little misleading. But if you really want to understand how to model choice data for a range of models, the book is outstanding. Other books focus more on the econometrics of the models, which are pivotal to know. But this book builds upon that by walking you through a series of increasingly-complex models, allowing you to understand why you need to perform particular modeling tasks.
The book focuses on NLogit software, but once you understand how to actually estimate choice models utilizing software, the skills can be easily carried into other software programs. However, without such experience, the other books available may fall short in enabling you to estimate choice models. Indeed, this was the case for me -- I understood the econometrics of the models, but had difficulty estimating complex models using software, simply beacuse I was uncomfortable with the syntax.
Hensher et al. removes this obstacle by giving the reader thorough training in both understanding what a given set of choice data may represent (e.g., observations from a particular choice experiment), and how to physically estimate models. The increase in confidence I received from working through the exercises in the book is why I rate the book so highly. Not only are the econometric concepts explained, but the nuts and bolts of model estimation are revealed, and that made all the difference.
An ambiguous oriented book.......2005-10-05
The whole book serves as a software (NLogit) manual. If you already know about the discrete choice analysis, you might be able to find out the messages that the authors try to convey. And it contains barely new information, so it doesn't help you anyway. But if you are new to this area, this is not the good book for you to start.
The book is extremely verbose and the ideas are hidden behind lines and ill-presented. It turned out that it's very difficult to comprehend the essence or even sense of the choice methods from this book. The best one can get is becoming a software user of the authors' own program.
Besides, the software, Nlogit, is not user-friendly and can't serve as a mainsteam tool.
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