The Path from Cause to Effect

If you're looking to untangle cause and effect in a complex world, then econometrics is what you seek. Join MIT professor Josh Angrist, aka Master Joshway, and learn to master the econometrics "Furious Five": random assignment, regression, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, and differences-in-differences methods.

Think econometrics is boring? So it was once, but will be no more! Skipping theoretical tedium, we use real empirical questions to bring the numbers to life. Does an expensive private university education pay off with higher earnings? Does health insurance really make you healthier? Does legal drinking cost lives?

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Transcript

Let's go back to the beginning -- last year, in fact -- to a world that was in the glory days of the Information Age. Information was everywhere. -ich liebe dich. - So much, in fact, that we were swimming in a virtual ocean of it with wave after wave bringing in more every day. Our curious young student reveled in it. His phone could seemingly answer any question that popped into his mind. Or so he thought. It turned out that for his most important questions -- How to eat healthy? What school should he attend? -- the more he waded through this vast sea of information, the more confused he got. - 

 

Why is this so complicated? - Where could he find the answers? Where should he invest his time? He tried to learn P-values, R-squared, regression analysis and more. It was so complex, it seemed to be written in code that made no sense to him. - What is this? - The answers to his questions seemed further away than ever. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that traditional methods would get him no further. He would set out on a quest, traveling the globe to hunt for the answers that these methods couldn't provide. For nearly a year he traveled -- - Whoa! - Through the world's remote regions, seeking out wise men and women, studying ancient artifacts, and unearthing arcane legends. - Ooh shiny! - Throughout his travels, he continued to find clues of a remote place, a place of learning, and of a man who could swim through this sea of information, a man who knew how to find the answers, a master of metrics. After struggling for so long, it seemed he had finally found his destination. Which brings us back to now. 

 

- Is there really a master who can teach me to find the answers I'm looking for? - Indeed. It is Master Joshway you seek. - Master Joshway. - Yes, in the outside world, he was known as Josh Angrist. - So he's a master of data science and statistics? - Oh! There is so much of this noise in the world. So much confusion. He -- The answers you seek -- The answers you seek are rooted in a simple but deep concept, cause and effect. It is only through econometrics, the original data science that you can come to know the path from cause to effect. And in order to grasp econometrics, you must learn to master the legendary furious five. These are the primary weapons used in econometrics. Without-- The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Mastering Econometrics is a free online course that teaches you how to use the legendary furious five. Econometrics is a journey, grasshopper. Click to start yours today. 


 

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