MOOC enrolment ‘Enjoyable Econometrics’ exceeds 25,000 students

An important motivation for Philip Hans Franses to make this MOOC was to emphasise that econometric models and methods can also be applied to more unconventional settings: ‘There are typically settings where the practitioner must collect its own data first. Such collection can be done by carefully combining existing databases, but also by holding surveys or running experiments. A byproduct of having to collect your own data is that this helps to choose amongst the potential methods and techniques that are around.’

The goal of the MOOC “Enjoyable Econometrics” is to show that econometric methods are often needed to answer questions. A question comes first, then data are to be collected, and then finally the model or method comes in. Depending on the data, however, it can happen that methods need to be adapted. Philip Hans Franses: ‘For example, where we first look at two variables, later we may need to look at three or more. Or, when data are missing, what then do we do? And, if the data are counts, like the number of newspaper articles citing someone, then matters may change too. But these modifications always come last and are considered only when relevant.’

Another interesting MOOC on econometrics is the Coursera course “Econometrics: Methods and Applications”. It is also developed by the Econometric Institute of Erasmus School of Economics and has reached over 185,000 enrolled learners in less than 9 years. The course is popular for being clear, practical, and engaging. It covers topics like regression, hypothesis testing, and model diagnostics with a focus on applying econometrics to real-world data. The professors offer great insights into how econometrics works in practice.