Your grade will be based on full participation in all aspects of the course. This includes attendance and participation in class (10%), attendance at required office hours (10%), one small paper (25%), two presentations (10%), and all proposals and drafts associated with the main project (45%). There will be no exams, and nothing will be due during finals week.
For the small paper, you will be given the choice of three topics on which to write a 6-8 page report. We will provide data sets and suggested techniques for each of the three choices. The main project will be a 10-12 page written report based on original economic research that you perform over the course of the semester. In addition to handing in the report at the end of the semester, you will be required to deliver a 5-10 minute presentation to the class on your preliminary idea, hand in a one page written proposal, hand in a rough draft, and deliver a 15-20 minute presentation to the class on your research near the end of the semester.