NUI Galway’s J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics is hosting an international conference on Applied Microeconometrics and Public Policy on Tuesday, 3 July.

The conference programme will feature papers and presentations focusing on public policy topics in Environmental Economics, Rural Development and Agricultural Economics, Health Economics, and Mental Health, the Economics of Ageing, Inequality and Poverty, Migration and Demography, Welfare, Taxation and Pensions, Labor Economics and the Economics of Education. A selection of the highest quality papers submitted to the 2012 conference will be put forward for a special thematic edition of The Economic and Social Review. A selection of the highest quality papers submitted to the 2012 conference will be put forward for a special thematic edition of The Economic and Social Review to follow after the conference.

The one-day conference will be followed by a three-day intensive international summer school in Discrete Choice Modeling, running from 4-6 July. The keynote speaker for the summer school is Professor William Greene of New York University. Professor Greene's work is at the forefront of knowledge in the field of quantitative techniques and applied microeconometrics. The broad range of techniques covered will include virtually all higher-end econometric methodologies in discrete choice modelling ranging from the fundamental model of binary choice to the Poisson regression models for count data. A number of applications from different areas of the professional literature to illustrate these techniques will be discussed. The course will teach econometrics from an applied perspective and demonstrate the techniques in the internationally used econometric software package LIMDEP, which Professor Greene authored.  It is widely acknowledged that NUI Galway provides the premier training programme in advanced econometrics in Ireland.

The primary objective of these joint events is to bring together experts from around the world to provide intensive instruction on recent techniques in discrete choice modelling in specialist fields. Discrete choice models have become an essential tool for the analysis of individual choice behaviour and can be applied to choice problems in a wide variety of diverse fields. The conference will also facilitate the exchange of research results and practical experiences in the context of application. Emphasis will be on the relevancy of policy modelling for contemporary public policy questions.

Speaking about the upcoming conference, Dr Mary Silles, conference organiser and Lecturer in Economics at NUI Galway, said: “Econometrics is a powerful tool that can be utilised to study serious questions in public policy. This conference provides academic leadership in the application of sophisticated analytical techniques to quantitative research problems in all branches of economics relevant to public policy. It is a great opportunity for research students, academics and professionals to expand their econometrics skills and keep up-to-date with major recent developments in applied econometric modelling.”

For details of the Applied Microeconometrics and Public Policy visit http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=164. Further information on the intensive three day course is available at http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=163

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