Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 Difficult to rate September 6, 2009
not a natural (huntington, west virginia United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's difficult to decide how to rate this text because it receives very favorable reviews from most readers, but it was not the book I expected, nor is it a book that I find particularly useful. I have long been a fan or Wooldridge's basic econometrics text because of its accessibility and coverage of a broad range of useful topics. I had expected to have a similar experience with the Econometric Analysis of Cross Sectional and Panel Data: a lot of good material covered in accessible fashion making technically difficult topics seem almost easy. Sadly, I found this book much more difficult than Woolridge's basic text, making it much less valuable as a self-instructional tool.
In good part, no doubt, the higher level of difficulty reflects the increased complexity of the material. But it also seems clear that Woodridge, perhaps rightly, is addressing a very different audience than the one he expected to use his introductory text. In any case, his earlier efforts to make hard-to-understand material accessible to readers who do not work with econometrics every day seem to be absent from this book. A reasonable admonition, therefore, might be that just because a reader found Wooldrige's introductory econometrics text useful is absolutely no guarantee that he or she will find this more advanced effort similarly readable.
All tolled, the book may very well merit more than a three star rating. My experience with it, however, suggests otherwise. If only there were an unambiguous way, short of actually procuring and trying to read a text, to make its level of difficulty and required mathematical and statistical background a good deal clearer. The need for this sort of information has become a good deal stronger now that econometric methods are being used in a much more varied range of disciplines.
 Outstanding Advanced Level Econometrics Text! June 7, 2009
Vivek B. Ajmani (Twin Cities, MN)
Folks:
I used this text in my second semester Applied Econometric course at the University of MN. To keep things short and simple: This is one heck of a book for those looking for indepth coverage of basic to advanced econometric method within the theoretical context. Of course, there are countless data examples mixed in as well. I love the sections on Instrumental Variables, Discrete Choice Models, and Duration Analysis. I referenced this book extensively when writing my own text "Applied Econometrics Analysis using the SAS System." The MROZ data set is used frequently by Prof Wooldridge to explain the many computations in the text and makes understanding the various methods a breeze.
Regards
Vivek Ajmani
St Paul, MN, USA
Better than some, but still suffers from the same issues as all textbooks in the field May 26, 2009
The Wild Gunman (Austin, Texas USA)
This book is a reasonably competent reference on panel data econometric methods. Its somewhat more clear and helpful than most metrics books, but not by a whole lot. It suffers from the same problem that plagues all econometrics texts. Like all metrics textbooks, it's long and overly detailed where it should be concise, and it's terse where it should be detailed. It also lacks a coherent, step by step structure. But that's essentially par for the course.
Statistics texts are almost universally either ultra-simple, hand waving outlines with no good mathematical insight, or they're a sprawling, useless mess of asymptotic derivations with no practical explanation, applicable intuition, or computational guidance. I'm hoping that one day, someone will write a really good econometrics textbook. This is a small step in the right direction, but it isn't the one we've all been waiting for.
Everything you wanted to know about panel analysis...and forgot to ask June 30, 2008
Carolina Herrera (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a development economist with some experience with panel data, I found Wooldridge a great guide to the nitty-gritty of longitudinal analysis. Good theoretical and practical background. Examples used to illustrate each point. Organizational structure is simple and elegant. If you've been relying on the Stata Manual to help you with your xt- econometrics, check this out first; you'll be less likely to make a mistake.
A good intermediate text, and a must for any econometrician's shelf. I'm buying a second copy - one for work and one for home. You might consider the same.
Excellent Book June 2, 2008
Md Arshad Rahman (Irvine, California)
Its an excellent book for advanced econometrics and a must read at the graduate level. Thanks Mr. Woolbridge
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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