Causal Inference “Correlation is not causation” is a frequent refrain from people investigating relationships in data.  But what does this mean?  In this course we will focus on empirical tools that economists use to identify causal relationships.  Students will explore the concept of causality and estimation of counterfactuals using randomized and natural experiments to study economic and social phenomena. Students will learn to apply the main research designs used by economists including randomized control trials (RCTs), difference-in-differences estimation, event studies, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity.  The ethics of conducting empirical research will also be emphasized throughout the course. (ECON 0211)

Economic Statistics (formerly ECON 0210) An introduction to the discipline of statistics as a science of understanding and analyzing data with an emphasis on applications to economics.   Key topics include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling, random variables, the Central Limit Theorem, estimation, hypothesis testing, p-values, and linear regression.  Students will be introduced to a statistical programming language.  A weekly one-hour lab is part of this course in addition to three hours of class meetings per week. (Formerly ECON 0210)

Senior Research Workshop II In this second semester of the senior research workshop sequence, the focus is on the execution of the research plan developed in ECON 0701.  Most instruction is now one-on-one but the workshop will still meet as a group to discuss and practice the presentation of results in various formats (seminars, poster sessions, et cetera) to the rest of the workshop and others in the college and broader communities. Feedback and critiques from such presentations will be incorporated into the project, which will culminate in a research paper in the style of an economics journal article.

Senior Research Workshop I In this first semester, students will design and begin their projects. Emphasis will be on designing a novel research question (while making the case for its importance) and an appropriate strategy for answering it. This requires immersion in the academic literature on the topic. General research principles and tools will be taught in class, as a group, while those specific to individual projects will be covered in one-on-one meetings. By the end of the term, students will outline their plan for completing the project, including demonstrating that it is a feasible research question for which the necessary information (e.g., data or source materials) is available or can be generated by the student (e.g., lab or other experiment).

Empirical Research Methods in Economics In this course we will provide students with the tools to conceptualize, design, and carry out a research project in economics. Topics will include survey design, sampling and power, experimental design (in and out of the lab), natural experiments, and other approaches to identifying causal relationships. Drawing from several sub-disciplines in economics, students will examine, replicate, and critique various studies. Emphasis will be placed on the formulation of valid, feasible research questions, and on the description and interpretation of results.

Economics of Religion Economics and religion have played fundamental roles in human civilization.  In this course we will use economic methods (statistical analysis and microeconomic theory) to examine the role that religion plays in economic activity.  Topics explored will include the markets for religion, the effects that religion has on economic outcomes and welfare, and the political economy of religion.  We will investigate studies and use data from both historical and contemporary time periods.  While Christianity will be a prominent religion in the course due to the literature and data that are available, the economic methods used in this course will be applied to other religions. (ECON 0150 and ECON 0155) 3 hrs. lct

Economic Statistics Basic methods and concepts of statistical inference with an emphasis on economic applications. Topics include probability distributions, random variables, simple linear regression, estimation, hypothesis testing, and contingency table analysis. A weekly one-hour lab is part of this course in addition to three hours of class meetings per week. Credit is not given for ECON 0210 if the student has taken MATH 0116, or MATH 0310, or PSYC 0201 previously or concurrently.

Erick Gong

Reviews and ratings for Erick Gong at Middlebury College.Erick Gong teaches Causal Inference, Economic Statistics, Senior Research Workshop II and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Erick Gong good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Fantastic Professor whose every lecture feels so short because of how interesting they are. He is really passionate about what he teaches. I recommend taking ECON STAT instead of STAT for econ majors, as they will need some knowledge from it in Regression. Right now I am taking Regression and am doing much better than those classmates who took STAT instead of ECON STAT. 

If you enjoy regression, you could enjoy this class. The topics are not too bad, it is the amount of work and labs that becomes the burden. Most is on completion but it can be dense work at times and exams were not great. If you put in a lot of time and effort there is potential to do well.

While Professor Gong is a great teacher, the class is very demanding. Specifically, the multiple choice grading on the exams is a bit difficult. However, I learned a ton in this class and feel very well prepared for regression.