Solution Manual Introductory Econometrics A Modern Approach 6th Edition Wooldridge All Chapters

Solution Manual Introductory Econometrics A Modern Approach 6th Edition Wooldridge SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS 1.1 It does not make sense to pose the question in terms of causality. Economists would assume that students choose a mix of studying and working (and other activities, such as attending class, leisure, and sleeping) based on rational behavior, such as maximizing utility subject to the constraint that there are only 168 hours in a week. We can then use statistical methods to measure the association between studying and working, including regression analysis that we cover starting in Chapter 2. But we would not be claiming that one variable “causes” the other. They are both choice variables of the student. 1.2 (i) Ideally, we could randomly assign students to classes of different sizes. That is, each student is assigned a different class size without regard to any student characteristics such as ability and family background. For reasons we will see in Chapter 2, we would like substantial variation in class sizes (subject, of course, to ethical considerations and resource constraints). (ii) A negative correlation means that larger class size is associated with lower performance. We might find a negative correlation because larger class size actually hurts performance. However, with observational data, there are other reasons we might find a negative relationship. For example, children from more affluent families might be more likely to attend schools with smaller class sizes, and affluent children generally score better on standardized tests. Another possibility is that, within a school, a principal might assign the better students to smaller classes. Or, some parents might insist their children are in the smaller classes, and these same parents tend to be more involved in their children’s education. (iii) Given the potential for confounding factors – some of which are listed in (ii) – finding a negative correlation would not be strong evidence that smaller class sizes actually lead to better performance. Some way of controlling for the confounding factors is needed, and this is the subject of multiple regression analysis. 1.3 (i) Here is one way to pose the question: If two firms, say A and B, are identical in all respects except that firm A supplies job training one hour per worker more than firm B, by how much would firm A’s output differ from firm B’s? (ii) Firms are likely to choose job training depending on the characteristics of workers. Some observed characteristics are years of schooling, years in the workforce, and experience in a particular job. Firms might even discriminate based on age, gender, or race. Perhaps firms choose to offer training to more or less able workers, where “ability” might be difficult to quantify but where a manager has some idea about the relative abilities of different employees. Moreover, different kinds of workers might be attracted to firms that offer more job training on average, and this might not be evident to employers. (iii) The amount of capital and technology available to workers would also affect output. So, two firms with exactly the same kinds of employees would generally have different outputs if they use different amounts of capital or technology. The quality of managers would also have an effect.