Advanced Quantitative Methods I

About This Course

The goal of this course is to prepare you to analyze public policy issues using statistics. Key topics in the course are in the areas of probability theory, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. While many students taking this class will have already taken courses in statistical inference and regression analysis, this course will probably place a much stronger emphasis than typical courses on conceptually understanding the underlying methods.

Since the course is targeted to first-year students in the MPA-ID program, we will not shy away from using the mathematical tools needed to develop the conceptual understanding. But the emphasis of the course will be on the conceptual understanding and application of the tools rather than on the math or the mechanics behind the tools.

Prerequisites

The main prerequisite for this course is an understanding of calculus at the level of a typical undergraduate course on the subject. However, as far as mathematics goes, the most important prerequisite is a certain level of “mathematical sophistication,” i.e. comfort in dealing with mathematical constructs and arguments. Experience with computer programming is desirable.

Course Staff

Professor Dan Levy

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Faculty Chair of the Kennedy School's SLATE (Strengthening Learning and Teaching Excellence) Initiative, Dan teaches courses in quantitative methods and program evaluation. He recently directed impact evaluations of girl-friendly school construction programs in Burkina Faso and Niger. He was recently involved in the evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program in Jamaica, a technical assistance project to Mexico's Social Development Ministry (Sedesol), the evaluation of an after-school program in the U.S., and a methodological review of studies comparing the use of various methods to estimate program impacts. He has served as a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, a faculty affiliate at the Poverty Action Lab (MIT), and as consultant to several organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Global Development Network (GDN). He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University, grew up in Venezuela, and is fluent in Spanish and French.

Teaching Fellow Teddy Svoronos

Teddy is a third year PhD student in Health Policy, in the Evaluative Sciences and Statistics track. His research interests lie in program evaluation methodology, and understanding how well non-randomized study designs can approximate randomized trials. In addition to a deep, lifelong love of Stata, he plays jazz guitar and makes mashups as a (very) amateur DJ.

Faculty Assistant Mae Klinger

Before coming to HKS, Mae was an Associate Editor at Bedford/St. Martin’s, responsible for editing college textbooks and media in film studies, journalism, and public speaking. Mae is passionate about supporting teaching and learning, and is especially interested in innovative classroom technology. Outside of class, she’s learning printmaking and painting. Mae is excited to meet all of you this fall!