We asked Joon Park and Yoosoon Chang, the founders of the new Econometrics Learning Lab (ELL), to share their thoughts about this outstanding resource for our faculty and graduate students and to tell us also about the inaugural workshop, Machine Learning in Economics, hosted by the ELL in August 2024.
Faculty News
We are excited to announce the establishment of the Econometrics Learning Lab (ELL) in the Department of Economics at Indiana University. The ELL aims to develop and disseminate innovative methodologies and econometric theories specifically designed for analyzing large-dimensional economic data. In today's data-rich environment, there is an urgent need for tools that can effectively handle complex datasets we encounter in economic applications, and the ELL is poised to meet this demand.
The primary goal of the ELL is to equip faculty and graduate students with the necessary skills and knowledge to utilize machine learning tools for economic data analysis. The Lab offers a supportive environment where participants can learn various new methodologies while leveraging their theoretical backgrounds. Regular training sessions will be organized to help faculty and students acquire the skills needed to implement standard machine learning tools effectively. Faculty associates and graduate student assistants are also available to provide consultation for those working with large-dimensional data in their research at more advanced levels.
From August 19-23, 2024, the ELL hosted its inaugural workshop, Machine Learning in Economics, attended by six faculty members and thirteen graduate students. This workshop included two daily sessions: morning lectures covering the theoretical foundations of various machine learning methodologies and afternoon sessions focused on practical applications in empirical research. The workshop covered a range of topics, including large dimensional regression techniques such as PCA, Ridge, and Lasso; reproducing kernel Hilbert space and kernel methods; support vector machines, including linear and kernel tricks; tree-based approaches such as random forests with and without resampling and boosting; and neural networks in both vanilla and recurrent forms. Participants were encouraged to bring their own laptops and have some working knowledge of programming in MATLAB and Python. A short session on the basics of both programming languages was included to support all attendees.
The ELL is committed to fostering collaborative research and sharing ideas among faculty and students to develop new methodologies and econometric theories tailored for economic analysis. We look forward to the contributions and advancements that will emerge from the Lab and our ongoing commitment to excellence in econometric research and education. Thank you for your continued support of the ELL and our initiatives.
Ala Avoyan co-authored a paper accepted in Management Science titled “Behavioral Market Design for Online Gaming Platforms.”
Rupal Kamdar co-authored “Partisan Expectations and COVID-Era Inflation” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Monetary Economics. The paper has garnered attention from major media outlets, being featured by both The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
Dean Lueck is under contract with Cambridge University Press for a book manuscript entitled The Governance of Wildlife. He co-authored with Gustavo Torrens and Julio Alberto Ramos Pastrana (IU Econ Ph.D. 2020), “Campaign Contributions, Interest Groups, Partisan Politics, and Environmental Polarization in the U.S. Congress,” published by the Journal of Law, Economics & Organization. He also co-authored with Ramos Pastrana “The Institutional Legacy of the Mexican Rancho System in California,” published by the Journal of Law & Economics. A study by Dean Lueck, Gustavo Torrens and Julio Ramos Pastrano was highlighted in the blog post on U.S. economics and policy run by the London School of Economics. Professor Lueck organized the 5th Symposium on Natural Resource Governance for Young Scholars held May 9-10, 2024, and hosted by the Department of Economics, which you can read about in this newsletter in the Around the {Department} section.
Volodymyr Lugovskyy co-authored with Ahmad Lashkaripour “Profits, Scale Economies, and the Gains from Trade and Industrial Policy,” American Economic Review, 113 (10), October 2023, pp 2759-2808. Professor Lugovskyy also co-authored “It Pays to Be Big: Price Discrimination in Maritime Shipping,” European Economic Review, 153, April 2023.
James Self authored “Teaching the General Public Inflation Basics Along With Short-Run and Long-Run Inflationary Fiscal and Monetary Policies,” Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 24 (4), December 2023.
James Walker coauthored with Abhijit Ramalingam (IU Econ Ph.D. 2010) and Brock V. Stoddard (IU Econ Ph.D. 2013) “Competition for Talent: Heterogenous Abilities in Team Production,” Experimental Economics, forthcoming 2024. Professor Walker also co-authored “Increasing benefits in one-time public goods does not promote cooperation,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, PNAS, 2024.
Todd Walker testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee Hearing on “A Blueprint for Prosperity: Expanding Housing Affordability” on January 31, 2024. Professor Walker’s testimony begins about 54 minutes in at this link.
The College of Arts