PhD Course

Part 1. Advanced Empirical Legal Studies: Research Designs

Course Description: Legal scholarship has grown increasingly empirical with researchers attempting to test legal theories that had previously been based on anecdotes or intuitions. Taking a cue from modern microeconometrics, economists working in empirical legal studies have focused primary attention on the issue of causality. Because we generally cannot run controlled experiments in legal and policy contexts, a number of issues arise with respect to causal inference. This course will highlight strategies used in empirical law and economics to isolate how legal and regulatory changes affect individual behaviour. The covered research designs: difference-in-difference, regression discontinuity, event studies, survey experiments, synthetic control methods. The conceptual part of the course explains the research designs in a more intuitve manner. Taught by Prof. Jonathan Klick.

Prior Requirements: Introductory knowledge of statistics is expected

Max External Participants: No limit

Course Coordinator: Prof. Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko

Extra Information: It is possible for students to attend Part 1 without attending Part 2 (but not the other way around).