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Welcome to the Chair of International Economic Policy!

Courses offered in the current Winter Term 2024/25

The Economics of Terror (Lecture, Master)
Prof. Dr. Günther G. Schulze (Tutorials by Fabian Haas, M.Sc.)
Language: English

Reale Außenwirtschaft (Vorlesung, Bachelor)
Prof. Dr. Günther Schulze
Language: German

 

Introduction to Empirical Economics Using Stata - Master (2nd year)
Dr. Nikita Zakharov
Language: English

Content


Today, quantitative analysis is the primary tool of economists. The course will introduce you to the statistical software – Stata – widely used in empirical research. Participants will master data collection, building datasets, data diagnostics, regression analysis, and production of tabulated and graphical output. The course's ultimate goal is to provide the students with the knowledge and programming skills sufficient to undertake empirical research on their own (e.g., for writing their master thesis). 

The lecture part will introduce primary commands with practical examples. The tutorial part will focus on the coding exercises employing datasets from the existing empirical papers on the political economy and development economics. Both parts of the course require diligent attendance and will be followed by the exam. 

 

 Requirements


The course is restricted to 16 participants. The main requirement is a good knowledge of econometrics. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to nikita.zakharov@vwl.uni-freiburg.de. Please attach your transcript or records so that we can see which econometrics courses you have taken so far. The deadline for application is October 1. Later enrolment is possible as long as places are available.

You do not need a STATA-license to participate as you will have access to STATA through the university.

 

Time and Location:


Lecture:

Monday, 02.00 – 04.00 p.m. (ct), PC-Pool 1

Tutorial:

Monday, 04.00 – 06.00 p.m. (ct), PC-Pool 1

 

 

Examination Modalities:


Credit points:

6 ECTS

Area of study:

M.Sc. Economics:

Economics & Politics

M.Sc. VWL:

 

International and Development Economics
Empirical Economics

Examination:

Take-home exam, hand-in deadline: - to be added -

 

The Political Economy of Migration - Seminar (Master, 2nd year)
Prof. Dr. Günther Schulze, Ramón Rey, M.Sc.
Language: English

Content


Immigration has emerged as a highly contentious issue in contemporary Western politics, often sparking heated debates and polarizing public opinion. Our upcoming seminar examines this issue through the lens of economic analysis. Employing advanced econometric techniques, we will investigate the factors influencing migration patterns, explore the potential links between immigration and crime rates, analyze the motivations behind emigration decisions, and evaluate the effects of immigration on labor markets and technological innovation.


Join us as we evaluate common claims about migration using empirical evidence, offering a nuanced, data-driven perspective on one of today's most discussed topics.

 

 Requirements


As the literature is mostly empirical, the seminar requires the knowledge of econometrics to the extent taught in intermediate econometrics.


The seminar is restricted to 14 participants. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail at your earliest convenience to Judith Müller at sek.schulze[at]vwl.uni-freiburg.de, but by October 6th at the very latest. Please put Ramón Rey in the Cc (ramon.rey[at]vwl.uni-freiburg.de) and don’t forget to attach your transcript of records.


The topics will be presented and allocated during the first meeting.

Time and Location:


First meeting:

Tuesday, October 15, 10.00-14.00

  • Breisacher Tor, room 104

Progress report meeting:

Wednesday, November 13, 16.00-19.00 

  • Wilhelmstr. 26, room 01014 

Seminar:

Friday - Sunday, January 17-19

  • The seminar might take place at a youth hostel outside of Freiburg; in that case, there will be costs of approx. 50 € per person for accommodation and food.

 

Examination Modalities:


Credit points:

4 or 6 ECTS

Area of study:

M.Sc. Economics:

Economics & Politics

M.Sc. VWL:

Empirical Economics

International and Development Economics

M.Ed. Wiwi:

Theorie und Empirie (only 4 ECTS)

Examination:

4 ECTS:   Presentation and Seminar Paper

6 ECTS:   Presentation, Seminar Paper and a brief discussion of the seminar paper of one of your fellow students.

Attendance at all meetings and active participation are required.

Causal Analysis in Labor Economics using R  - Lecture (Master, 2nd year)
Prof. Dr. Alexander Spermann
Language: English

The course will be taught online (live sessions, Zoom)

Content


The course covers empirical labor economics, modern econometrics, and modern business analytics. The main textbooks are Taddy et al. (2023) and Huber (2023). I use R scripts for each session. Students should sign in at posit.cloud to get access to RStudio. Each session will be recorded via Zoom.

Complementary YouTube-Videos are available on my channel (https://www.youtube.com/chan-nel/UCi5oODsxMKzuMiI9PFp3CSw).

Topics covered are:

  • ­Regression in R
  • Causal Inference with Experiments (RCT, RDD, IV)
  • ­Causal Inference with Controls (Matching, DiD)
  • Labor Market and Education (Mincer equation)
  • Simulation-based Inference (SBI): Bootstrapping (Resampling), Shuffling
  • Introduction to Causal Machine Learning (LASSO, Random Forest)

 

 Lecture


ZOOM Live Sessions

Zoom-Link via mail to signed-in participants (Ilias)

 

Time and Location:


Lecture:

Friday, 2.00-3.30 pm (st) 

-> no sessions on Novermeber 8th and January 31st

-> double session on February 7th (2.00-5.00)

 

 

Examination Modalities:


 

Credit points:

4 ECTS

Area of study:

M.Sc. Economics:

E&P: Elective Courses

Finance: Elective Courses

ISNE: Elective Courses

M.Sc. VWL:

Empirical Economics

Labor, Human Resource Management &Organization

 

M.Sc. BWL:

Wahlpflichtbereich II:     VWL

                                      Quantitative Methoden

Examination:

- to be added -

Final exam: 60 minutes. The exam will take place in class, not online!

Students who wrote the exam in “Modern Econometrics Using R”, "Labor Economics Using R" or "Labor Economics and Causal Machine Learning Using R" cannot write the exam in this course.

Summer term 2024

The Political Economics of Information and Media - Reading course & tutorial (Master, 2nd year)
Prof. Dr. Günther Schulze, Ramón Rey, M.Sc.
Language: English

The Economics of Corruption - Reading course & tutorial (Master, 2nd year)
Dr. Nikita Zakharov
Language: English

 

 

Causal Analysis in Labor Economics using R - Lecture (Master 2nd Year)
Prof. Dr. Alexander Spermann
Language: English

 

 

The Economics of Religion - Seminar (Master, 2nd year)
Prof. Dr. Günther Schulze, Fabian Haas, M.Sc.
Language: English

Content


The seminar analyzes the complex relationship between religious beliefs and socio-economic outcomes from an economic perspective using economic methods. Researchers in this field investigate the impact of religion on various facets of society, including the economy, policies, institutions, social capital, and norms, as well as the reciprocal influence of such (and other) factors on religious dynamics.

The aim of this seminar is to examine the empirical literature on the economics of religion in order to address critical issues in this nexus such as: What are the determinants of religiosity? Why do religious beliefs persist until today? Does religiosity lead to reduced growth and development? Does religion have an influential impact on current institutions and laws? Does religion lead to more trust within the religious in-group but also to more xenophobia?

Requirements


As the literature is mostly empirical, the seminar requires the knowledge of econometrics to the extent taught in intermediate econometrics. 

The seminar is restricted to 12 participants. There are still some places left. If you are interested, please send an e-mail to our secretary Judith Müller at sek.schulze[at]vwl.uni-freiburg.de, attaching your transcript of records. 

Time and Location:


First meeting:

 

Wednesday, February 7th, 5.00-8.00pm 

  • Faculty building, 02-012

Introduction to scientific working & writing:

Tuesday, April 16th, 4.00-7.00pm

  • Alte Universität, 01036a

Progress report meeting:

Tuesday, May 14th, 4.00-8.00pm

  • Faculty building, 02-012

Seminar:

Friday - Sunday, June 14th-16th 

The seminar will take place at youth hostel Menzenschwand, there will be costs of approx. 50Euro per person for accommodation and food.


 Examination Modalities:


Credit points:

4 or 6

Area of study:

M.Sc. Economics:

Economics & Politics

M.Sc. VWL:

Empirical Economics

International and Development Economics

M.Ed. Wiwi:

Theorie und Empirie (only 4 ECTS)

Examination:

4 ECTS:   Presentation and Seminar Paper

6 ECTS:   Presentation, Seminar Paper and a brief discussion of the seminar paper of one of your fellow students.

Attendance at all meetings and active participation are required.

 

Die Ökonomik der Familie - Blockseminar (Bachelor, 3rd year)
Prof. Dr. Günther Schulze, Lukas Pohn, M.Sc.
Language: German

Inhalt


Im Sommersemester 2024 bieten wir ein Seminar zur Ökonomik der Familie für Bachelorstudierende der Volkswirtschaftslehre und des polyvalenten Lehramtsstudiums an.

Die Familienökonomik analysiert wichtige Entscheidungen „rund um die Familie“ aus ökonomischer Perspektive, etwa die Partnerwahl, die Entscheidung Kinder zu bekommen, sich wieder zu trennen, oder wie Kinder und Berufstätigkeit miteinander verbunden werden können. Dabei sind sowohl Determinanten wie Folgen dieser Entscheidungen Gegenstand der Untersuchung und natürlich insbesondere die Frage, wie staatliche Maßnahmen diese Entscheidungen beeinflussen. 

Die von der Familienökonomik behandelten Themen umfassen Fragen wie etwa: Warum und wann entscheiden wir uns für die Ehe? Welche Faktoren beeinflussen die Wahl des Partners/der Partnerin? Wie beeinflussen Ehe und Kinder das persönliche Wohlbefinden? Welche Folgen haben eine antizipierte mögliche Scheidung auf Humankapitalbildung der Ehepartner, der Kinder und die Entscheidung zu heiraten? Was sind die Folgen von Teenager-Müttern? Welche Folgen haben die Elternzeiten für die Kinder? Für die Mütter? Welche Folgen haben fehlende Väter für die Kinder? Wie und warum haben sich die Heiratsquoten im Zeitablauf verändert?

Voraussetzungen


Da wir verschiedene theoretische und empirische Artikel behandeln werden sind mikroökonomische Kenntnisse und Grundkenntnisse in empirischen Methoden nötig. Das Seminar wird für das dritte Jahr des Bachelor Studiums empfohlen. Unterrichtssprache ist Deutsch. Da die Kernliteratur in englischer Sprache verfasst ist, setzen wir auch gute Englischkenntnisse voraus.  

Das Seminar ist begrenzt auf 12 Studierende. Es gibt nach ein paar freie Plätze. Wenn Sie interesse haben, bewerben Sie sich bitte per Email bei unserer Sekretärin Judith Müller (sek.schulze[at]vwl.uni-freiburg.de). Schicken Sie bitte Ihre aktuelle Leistungsübersicht mit. 

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Zeit und Ort


Vorbesprechung:

08. Februar (Do.), 14.00-16.30 Uhr 

  • Peterhof, R1
Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten
und Schreiben einer Seminararbeit: 

18. April (Do.), 14.00-16.00 Uhr

  • Breisacher Tor, R201

Fortschrittsbericht:

7. Mai (Di.), 16.00-20.00 Uhr

  • Wilhelmstr. 26, R.01-014

Seminar:

7.-9.Juni (Fr.-So., ganztätig)

  • Rempartstr. 10-15, R02-012

 Prüfungsmodalitäten:


Kreditpunkte:

Studienfach:

B.Sc. VWL

Bereich: Volkswirtschaftspolitik

Prüfung:

Seminararbeit und Präsentation

Aktive Teilnahme und Anwesenheit an allen Terminen ist verpflichtend.

Our Teaching Concept

The teaching concept of our chair focuses on promoting crucial skills essential for an empirical economist. Each of the modules, which build on each other, promotes a particular skill set corresponding to a different research phase (work with the literature, data analysis, scientific writing, academic presentation). See Our Teaching Concept section for more details.