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Neal Olitsky

faculty

Neal Olitsky, PhD

Professor / Chairperson

Economics

Curriculum Vitae

Contact

508-910-6670

Liberal Arts 377

Education

2008University of IowaPhD
2004University of IowaMA
2002Oberlin CollegeBA

Teaching

  • Macroeconomics
  • Labor Economics
  • Econometrics

Programs

Courses

Survey of introductory macroeconomics with focus on economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. Topics covered include national income accounting, inflation, unemployment, fiscal policy, money, the banking system, and monetary policy. Balance of payments and currency exchange rate issues are analyzed. Cross-listed as PST 232

Work experience at an elective level supervised for academic credit by a faculty member in an appropriate academic field. Conditions and hours to be arranged ahead of time. Graded CR/NC. For specific procedures and regulations, see section of catalog on Other Learning Experiences. Credit not to be given retroactively.

Introduction to econometrics including development of basic techniques of bivariate and multivariate linear regression analysis; use of lagged variable and dummy variables in model building; problems of multicollinearity, autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity.

Translation of statistical concepts presented in Econometrics (ECO 333) into STATA. Labs teach basic functions in STATA such as data manipulation, variable construction, simple programming, regression, statistical testing and prediction. Labs consist of examples which will be solved step-by-step to foster an effective approach to statistical computing. The topics covered in labs correspond to those covered in ECO 333.

Intermediate writing in economics with variable content. The economic issues covered vary by instructor and semester, but the course focuses on the tools and practice of professional writing in economics. Students engage in low and high stakes writing assignments with a focus on research writing, integration, and synthesis of knowledge from diverse sources, policy analysis and proper citation and formatting.

Study under the supervision of a faculty member in an area covered in a regular course not currently being offered. Conditions and hours to be arranged.

Online and Continuing Education Courses

Survey of introductory macroeconomics with focus on economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. Topics covered include national income accounting, inflation, unemployment, fiscal policy, money, the banking system, and monetary policy. Balance of payments and currency exchange rate issues are analyzed. Cross-listed as PST 232

Introduction to data and statistical methods used in economics. Descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression including multiple regression are covered. Applications in economics with current economic data are emphasized.
Register for this course.

Translation of statistical concepts presented in ECO 332 into tasks in Microsoft Excel. Labs will consist of problems which will be solved step by step to foster an effective approach to statistical computing. Students will use hypothetical and real-world data when performing lab exercises. Topics covered in the lab will be the same as those covered in ECO 332.
Register for this course.

The labor force. Wages in competitive and non-competitive markets. Wage structures. Inequalities and discrimination. Impacts of unions and social standards. Indexation, inflation and unemployment. Cross-listed as LST 342.
Register for this course.

Research

Research interests

  • Labor Economics
  • Economics of Education
  • Economics Education

Select publications

See curriculum vitae for more publications

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