Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018

Course Title / 課程名稱

Special Study of Regional Economy and Business / 地域経済経営特論

HU course number: 101513

Instructor / 開課教師

Jau-er Chen (Department of Economics, National Taiwan University)

Lecture Duration and Place / 課程時間、地點

23 July 2018 – 27 July 2018, Sapporo 札幌

[Sapporo Campus] Room 113, Graduate School of Economics and Business, Hokkaido University

Organizing Institution / 開課系所

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University / 北海道大学大学院経済学院

Course Objectives

The object of this course is to study regional economy and business in the global and plural perspective. Located in the middle of the Pacific Rim and on the Northern frontier of Japan, Hokkaido University has been a leading institution to study the regional sustainable development. Hosting the Research Center for Regional Economy and Business Network, the Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration invites prominent professors from partner universities in Europe and Asia at the occasion of the Summer Institute.

Course Goals

To have a comparative perspective on the regional economy and business in Japan, Asia and Europe.

Course Schedule

Brief explanation on the course theme: This part of the course aims to, in the context of quantile regressions, introduce students to econometric methodologies essential for dealing with endogeneity in empirical research related to regional economy and business. Quantile regression is a powerful tool to investigate social inequality and economic inequality, cf. Angrist and Pischke (2009 Mostly Harmless Econometrics). For example, labor economists use quantile regressions and corresponding identifying strategy to see whether participation in a training program or membership in a labor union affects earnings inequality. Using quantile regressions, economists can also check for interactions, such as whether and how the relation between economic variable and inequality has been changing over time. We cover the following topics:

1. An introduction to quantile regression.
2. Unconditional quantile regression. Empirical application: wage inequality in Taiwan and Japan.
3. Panel quantile regression. Empirical application: land prices and unemployment rate in Japan; housing prices and economic structure in Taiwan.
4. Quantile models with endogeneity. Empirical applications: Multinationality (international diversification) and Firm Performance; Japanese Taylor rule.

Preparation and Assignments

The students are required to read the material assigned for each lecture in advance. For each lecture the student is expected to make a short summary of each paper (maximum 200 words per paper) and prepare at least one question about the material. The students will be asked to present their summary of the papers and the questions will then be debated together in the classroom. In order to make the question relevant compare critically the different sources assigned for that particular lecture or segment. The students will also write a final paper which analyzes regional economy and business.

Grading System

Your grade will be determined by how well you demonstrate your achievement of the course goals through

1. Discussion participation (50%)
2. Final papers/presentations (50%)

Reading List

1. Hao, Lingxin, and Daniel Q. Naiman (2007). Quantile Regression. SAGE Publications.
2. Porter, Stephen R. (2015). “Quantile Regression: Analyzing Changes in Distributions Instead of Means.” Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research 30.
3. Chen, Jau-er, C.-L. Chen, and Yuya Katafuchi (2017). “Wage Inequality in Taiwan.” working paper.
4. Chen, Jau-er, and Yuya Katafuchi (2017). “Land Prices and Unemployment Rate in Japan.” working paper.
5. Bascle, Guilhem, Jau-er Chen, and Louis Mulotte (2018). “Does Heterogeneity in Firm Performance Matter? A Generalized Quantile Regression Approach to the Multinationality-Performance Relationship.” working paper.
6. Chen, Jau-er, and Masanori Kashiwagi (2017). “The Japanese Taylor Rule Estimated using Censored Quantile Regressions,” Empirical Economics, 52:1, 357-371.

Additional Information (URLs)

1. Homepage of the Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration
2. Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018 北海道大学国際夏季講座 2018

 

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Picture from Shuttertock.