7. - 8. Mai 2025

Graduate Center Masterclasses

Dynamic Models of Individual and Household Behaviors in Education and the Labor Market

Termin

7. - 8. Mai 2025
May 7,  9-12 a.m. and 2-5 p.m.
May , 9-12 a.m.

Ort

Karl Popper Room
DIW Berlin
Room 2.3.020
Mohrenstr. 58
10117 Berlin

Sprecher*innen

Victoria Prowse

This masterclass offers an in-depth exploration of dynamic models used to analyze individual and household decision-making processes in education, retirement, and the labor market. Participants will gain a strong conceptual understanding of dynamic structural models, including the key motivations for their use and critical considerations in their formulation.

The course adopts a data-driven perspective, focusing on estimation techniques such as indirect inference and strategies for validating model parameters using external data sources. We will also discuss how to leverage structural estimation results and address some of the limitations of these models. While no programming knowledge is required, demonstrations and examples using Stata and/or MATLAB will be provided.

The masterclass aims to equip participants with the skills to interpret and apply dynamic models in their research. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present their own research or research proposals, regardless of topic, empirical method, or stage of development.

Schedule

Day 1 – Foundations of Dynamic Structural Models

Session 1: May 7th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Introduction to static and dynamic structural models of individual and household behavior, using individual labor supply as an example
  • Key challenges, limitations, and opportunities in dynamic modeling
  • Applications in education, retirement, and labor market decisions

Session 2: May 7th, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

  • Estimation methods, including maximum likelihood and simulation-assisted techniques
  • Strategies for model assessment and validation
  • Student research presentations and discussions

Day 2 – Policy Applications and Counterfactual Analysis

Session 3: May 8th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Counterfactual analysis in dynamic structural models
  • Leveraging dynamic structural models for evaluating behavioral, revenue, and welfare effects of policy interventions
  • Student research presentations and discussions

About the instructor

Victoria Prowse is an empirical microeconomist with a focus on labor, public, and experimental economics. Her research is centered on the exploration of how cognitive skills and individual preferences influence effort provision, learning, human capital investments, and consequential life outcomes, such as educational attainment, labor supply, retirement, and inequality. She also conducts studies investigating the impact of interventions and public policies on these significant life outcomes.

Currently holding the Marge Magner Chair, Victoria Prowse serves as a Professor of Economics at Purdue University. She is also a faculty affiliate of multiple research institutes, including the Purdue Integrative Data Science Initiative, the Purdue Policy Research Institute,  the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) and German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).

Prowse completed her Doctorate in Economics at the University of Oxford. As an educator, she imparts knowledge in econometrics and empirical labor and public economics, while maintaining a close and productive working relationship with her students across all levels.

Prof. Prowse's scholarly contributions include numerous publications on diverse topics such as labor supply, pension policy, creativity, goal-setting, cheating, disappointment aversion, and more.

Registration

If you want to join this short course, please register with the Graduate Center on a first-come, first-served basis: gradcenter@diw.de

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