Dates
| weekly | Thursday | 12:15 - 15:45 | 15.10.2026 - 28.01.2027 | C 6.317 Seminarraum | Start 1. lecture week |
Curriculum context
Final presentation of own empirical project (40%)
Final empirical paper (50%)
Resit date: No resit date will be offered to this assessment, because it is didactically inseparably connected with one of the associated courses. A resit will only be possible, if the module is available again.
Final presentation of own empirical project (40%)
Final empirical paper (50%)
Resit date: No resit date will be offered to this assessment, because it is didactically inseparably connected with one of the associated courses. A resit will only be possible, if the module is available again.
Organizational information
Registration
Registration does not begin until 02.10.2026 at 08:00. It ends on 12.10.2026 at 23:59.
The registration is restricted to the following fields or courses of study:
- Leuphana Bachelor / Major Economics / alle Semester
- Leuphana Bachelor / Major Studium Individuale / alle Semester
- Leuphana Bachelor / Minor Studium Individuale / alle Semester
Persons
Content
This course gives students the chance to conduct own empirical research with real microdata by using their prior knowledge from courses in the Economics Major (e.g., Microeconomics, Labor Economics, Orientation in Economics, Econometrics). It starts with a brief introduction and overview of relevant theories from labor economics including human capital theory and discrimination theories. The course further comprises a short introduction to applied econometrics, earnings functions, and Stata applications for estimating earnings functions using the VSE data set. Students also have to work at home through textbook Stata commands and applications and should estimate earnings functions on their own using the supplied VSE. The second part of the course is devoted to own empirical research of students, in which they can choose own topics when estimating earnings functions with Stata. Students have to give a short presentation of their own research idea, write an own empirical paper, and give a final presentation with their results. These three assignments will be graded in the combined examination.
Major Economics learning goals/ objectives related to this course:
Students will be able to explain and critically evaluate empirical studies and econometric methods to identify causal effects. [LO 1.2]
Students will be able to apply microeconomic theories to analyze human behavior, firms, and markets in different fields of economics. [LO 2.2]
A Leuphana Economics major graduate will be able to carry out own empirical research projects. Students will be able to develop research questions and paths of analysis. They will have a deep understanding of empirical methods and research designs. They will be able to prepare and analyze data with professional statistical software packages. They will be able to interpret, present and discuss their empirical results in spoken and written form. [LO 3.1-3.4]
Students will be able to deliver high quality presentations combining visual communication design with oral and written communication. They will be able to produce clear and well-structured documents that comply with scientific standards. Students will be able to work in diverse teams and will be sensitive to inter- and transdisciplinary discussions. [LO 4.1-4.3]
Note that the course contributes to develop the skills addressed by the learning objectives. But it is only a part of the Major Economics.
(1) Short presentation of own project idea in December (with feedback) (10%)
(2) Final presentation of own empirical project (with feedback to improve final paper) in January. (40%)
(3) Own empirical paper until first week of February. (50%)
Details about the course and its schedule will be discussed in the first session. A comprehensive slide deck and STATA applications will be made available to participants at the beginning of the course (see materials).
Evaluation
Further information on teaching evaluation: https://www.leuphana.de/en/teaching/quality-management/evaluation/course-evaluation.html