February 9, 2010

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Graduate Courses in Demography

Courses in Population Studies

Survey of past and current trends in the growth of the population of the world and of selected regions. Analysis of the components of growth and their determinants. The social and economic consequences of population change.

Source materials used in the study of population; standard procedures for the measurement of fertility, mortality, natural increase, migration, and nuptiality; and uses of model life tables and stable population analysis and other techniques of estimation when faced with inaccurate or incomplete data are studied. Prerequisite: ECO 571/SOC 532 or instructor's permission.

This course examines the process of formulating health policies in developing countries by looking at both theory and practical experience. Topics include: the health sector reform process and implementation, the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development plan of action and its implementation, and the experience of setting policies for specific health issues. Case studies from several developing countries highlighting.

An examination of some of the ways in which mathematics and statistics can be used to analyze population processes. The focus is on population models that have direct application in demography, including survival models, stable and nonstable populations, population projections, and models of marriage and birth. The course is offered in alternate years.

Statistical methods applied to the analysis of demographic data. The focus is on estimating the effects of concomitant variables on demographic processes such as nuptiality, fertility, or mortality using micro data. Statistical techniques to be studied include non-parametric regression, models for survival analysis, multiple-spell event history analysis, and models for counts of events. Particular attention is given to issues of over-dispersion and unobserved heterogeneity. The course is offered in alternate years.

Examines health care policy formulation focusing on developing countries. Theory and practical lessons on how policy is, or isn't, translated into programs. Students will analyze global epidemiological threats to the infrastructure and financial stability of health care systems. Examines: 1) how alternative health care finance and reform strategies facilitate or create barriers to achieving policy objectives; and 2) explores the role of governments, WHO, NGOs, and donor agencies in setting the agenda for health policy.

Course is designed for doctoral students in their third year of a specialization in demography. One objective of the course is to examine critically how researchers tackle demographic research questions. A second related goal is to explore the construction of a dissertation and a research paper.

Topics of special interest are offered as full or half-term courses. Topics vary from year to year.

Covers application of statistical methods in social science research. Emphasis is on hands-on data analysis and discussions of key techniques. Issues may include: formulation of the research problem; choice of appropriate model, data extraction; merging/combining datasets; constructing variables/ summary indicators; strategies for handling missing data; interpreting odds ratios, coefficients, relative risks; prediction/simulation as tools for interpreting results; understanding interaction terms, clustered data, robust estimation of standard errors, presenting results; effective use of tables/graphs; selectivity and endogeneity; causal inferences.

About well-being throughout the world, with focus on income and health. Explores what happened to poverty, inequality, and health, in the US, and internationally. Discusses conceptual foundations of national and global measures of inequality, poverty, and health; construction of measures, and extent to which they can be trusted; relationship between globalization, poverty, and health, historically and currently. Examines links between health and income, why poor people are less healthy and live less long than rich people.

Examines selected topics in reproductive health, with primary emphasis on contemporary domestic issues in the United States--such as unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infection--but within the context of the international agenda on reproductive rights established in the 1994 Cairo international Conference on Population and development.

This course examines the determinants and consequences of migration and immigration in the United States. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed, and immigration and migration are analyzed with reference to national and local policy. Specific topics include demographic consequences in the short and long run, the impact on regional economies, differential effects of legal and illegal immigration, political implications, and cultural issues.

Scientific overview, policy analysis of selected topics in biotechnology that are currently the focus of intense debate.

Examines the ethical issues arising in the context of scientific research. Evaluates the role and responsibilities of professional researchers in dealing with plagiarism, fraud, conflict over authorial credit, and ownership of data. In addition, it undertakes a broader inquiry into conceptions of professional integrity, and the responsibilities that scientists have to their research subjects, their students and apprentices, as well as to society at large.

This course on qualitative methods in social science focuses on asking questions, on participant-observer techniques, and on recording and interpreting primary field data. It also considers how qualitative methods may be used to complement more quantitative approaches. Recent literature on the theoretical and ethical aspects of these methods are examined.

Areas of focus include measurement of health status, illness occurrence, mortality and impact of associated risk factors; techniques for design, analysis and interpretation of epidemiologic research studies; sources of bias and confounding; and causal inference. Other topics include foundations of modern epidemiology, the epidemiologic transition, reemergence of infectious disease, social inequalities in health, and ethical issues. The course will examine the bridging of "individual-centered" epidemiology and "macro-epidemiology" to recognize social, economic and cultural context, assess impacts on populations, and provide important inputs for public health and health policy. Prerequisite: 507b/c or advanced statistics.

This half-course offered in the first half of the spring term focuses on the statistical analysis of time-to-event or survival data. We introduce the hazard and survival functions; censoring mechanisms, parametric and non-parametric estimation, and comparison of survival curves. We cover continuous and discrete-time regression models with emphasis on Cox's proportional hazards model and partial likelihood estimation. We discuss competing risk models, unobserved heterogeneity, and multivariate survival models including event history analysis. The course emphasizes basic concepts and techniques as well as applications in social science research using the statistical package Stata. Prerequisite: WWS509 or equivalent.

This half-course offered in the second half of the spring term provides an introduction to statistical methods for the analysis of multilevel data, such as data on children, families, and neighborhoods. We review fixed- and random-effects models for the analysis of clustered and longitudinal data before moving on to multilevel random-intercept and random-slopes models. We discuss model fitting and interpretation, including centering and estimation of cross-level interactions. We cover models for continuous as well as binary and count data, reviewing the different approaches to estimation in common use, including Bayesian inference. The course emphasizes practical applications using the multilevel package MLwiN. Prerequisite: WWS509 or equivalent.

An introduction to the philosophy, practice and politics of public health in the U.S. The course considers the principles of epidemiology and the social, political and institutional forces that shape public health policy, as well as the determinants of health, government's role in minimizing risks and maximizing well-being, and the major organizational structures responsible for monitoring, protecting and promoting the public health. Topics include environmental and occupational health; emerging infections; food safety; violence; tobacco control; population aging; and public health genetics.

Individual research projects involving demographic analysis related to issues in population policy or, occasionally, participation in the research conducted at the Office of Population Research. Prerequisite: Survey of Population Problems (ECO 571/SOC 531).

This course explores the professed and unspoken goals nations pursue with their health systems and the alternative economic and administrative structures different nations use to pursue those goals. The emphasis in the course will be on the industrialized world, although some time can be allocated later in the course to approaches used in the developing countries, if students in the course desire it. Courses in Statistics.

Courses in Statistics

Concepts and methods of time series analysis and their applications to economics. Time series models to be studied include simultaneous stochastic equations, VAR, ARIMA, and state-space models. Methods to analyze trends, second-moment properties via the auto covariance function and the spectral density function, methods of estimation and hypothesis testing and of model selection will be presented. Kalman filter and applications as well as unit roots, cointegration, ARCH, and structural breaks models are also studied.

The construction, estimation, and testing of econometric models as a process, from theory to model formulation to estimation and testing and back to theory. Bridging the gap between theory and applied work. A series of topics in macroeconomics time series and microeconomic cross-sectional analysis: consumption at the household and aggregate level, commodity prices, nonparametric and parametrics estimation.

Thorough examination of linear regression from a data analytic point of view. Sociological applications are strongly emphasized. Topics include: (a) a review of the linear model; (b) regression diagnostics for outliers and collinearity; (c) smoothers; (d) robust regression; and (e) resampling methods. Students taking the course should have completed an introductory course in probability and statistics.

Study of basic analysis techniques, stressing application to public policy. The course includes measurement, descriptive statistics, data collection, probability, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, simple and multiple regression, correlation, and graphical procedures. Some training is offered in the use of computers. No previous training in statistics is required. Assumes a fluency in calculus.

Provides a thorough examination of statistical methods employed in public policy analysis, with a particular emphasis on regression methods which are frequently employed in research across the social sciences. Emphasizes intuitive understanding of the central concepts, and develops in students the ability to choose and employ the appropriate tool for a particular research problem, and understand the limitations of the techniques.

Focuses primarily on the analysis of survey data using generalized linear statistical models. The course starts with a review of linear models for continuous responses and then proceeds to consider logistic regression models for count data - including rates and contingency tables - and hazard models for duration data. Attention is paid to the logical and mathematical foundations of the techniques, but the main emphasis is on applications, including computer usage. Assumes prior exposure to statistics at the level 507c or higher and familiarity with matrix algebra and calculus.

*indicates topics courses varying by year

Click here to view a list of undergraduate course available.

Page last updated on September 2009.