PP456 Half Unit
Quantitative Approaches and Policy Analysis
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Mark Schankerman
Availability
This course is available on the Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-Columbia), Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-University of Toronto), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Hertie), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and NUS), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Tokyo), MPA in Data Science for Public Policy and Master of Public Administration. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
For MPA Year 1 students, MPA in Data Science for Public Policy Year 1 students, and MPA Double Degree first year students. Courses not available as outside options.
This course is only compulsory for students who demonstrate sufficient prior knowledge of Econometrics to be exempt from the first half of PP455 in Autumn Term.
Deadline for application: 12 noon on the Friday before the start of Autumn Term.
For queries contact: spp.doubledegrees@lse.ac.uk
Requisites
Mutually exclusive courses:
This course cannot be taken with PP455 at any time on the same degree programme.
Course content
The course introduces students to a number of regression-based, quantitative evaluation methods to assess the causal impact of policy interventions. These include randomized control trials, both natural or quasi-experiments, panel data, matching methods, difference-in-differences estimation, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity design.
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and classes totalling a minimum of 30 hours across the Winter Term.
There will be a revision session held in Week 1 of ST.
Formative assessment
Formative coursework will include weekly problem sets
Indicative reading
Particularly useful textbooks are Joshua D. Angrist and Jom-Steffen Pischke, "Mastering Metrics"; James Stock & Mark Watson, "Introduction to Econometrics"; and Jeffrey Wooldridge, "Introductory Econometrics". The material in the textbooks will be complemented with some recent published articles. A complementary text, also available in an online version, is Scott Cunningham's "Casual Inference: The Mixtape." This is a good reference to gain intuition about some of the core causal methods we will study. A full reading list will be distributed at the beginning of the course.
Assessment
Exam (70%), duration: 180 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period
Presentation (10%)
This component of assessment includes an element of group work.
Continuous assessment (10%)
Memo (10%)
Exam (70%, duration: 3 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the spring exam period.
Presentation (10%), policy memo (10%) and continuous assessment (10%) in the Winter Term (WT).
Key facts
Department: School of Public Policy
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 2
Average class size 2024/25: 1
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.