2024 Africa Training Workshop II: Machine Learning, REMOTE ONLY

2024 Africa Training Workshop in Econometrics (AFTW2-2024)
Causal Machine Learning and Modelling with Big Data in Economics
December 3-6, 2024
Fully Remote

Over the past decade, the use of unstructured data has been growing steadily in economics and related disciplines. This training workshop on "Causal Machine Learning and Modeling with Big Data in Economics" offers a comprehensive introduction to empirical methods used to extract economically meaningful information from such data, with a particular focus on natural language. Starting with methods based on term counts, the course progresses to neural language models that represent words as vectors for word prediction tasks, laying the groundwork for modern large language models.

Additionally, the course delves into causal machine learning using the statistical software "R." Participants will learn how to assess the causal effect of interventions or treatments on outcomes, ensuring comparability between treated and untreated groups through data-driven models. The course covers key algorithms like double lasso regression, causal random forests, double machine learning, and optimal policy trees, enabling attendees to detect effect heterogeneity and target optimal subgroups. By the end, participants will gain a solid understanding of the assumptions, intuition, and practical applications of machine learning for causal analysis using real-world datasets.

Professors Martin Huber and Stephen Hansen are internationally renowned experts in the fields of data-driven causal analysis, machine learning, and high-dimensional analysis. They will be instructing on cutting-edge techniques that combine causal inference, machine learning, and high-dimensional analysis to enhance decision-making in economics.

This is a graduate-level course for PhD students, scholars, and professionals (with at least a master’s degree).

Format: Fully remote
Registration fees: 120 USD

Instructors:
Stephen Hansen (University College London) and Martin Huber (University of Fribourg).

Important dates:
Deadline for application: October 25, 2024
Admission decision: October 30, 2024
Registration deadline: November 20, 2024

An applicant must be a member of the Econometric Society at the time of application. To join the Econometric Society, please go to https://www.econometricsociety.org/membership/join-renew or https://www.africaeconometricsociety.com/econometric-society-membership.
Special rates apply to students and scholars currently based in low- and low-middle income countries, and Africa-based applicants may apply for sponsored membership (for more information click here.)

Applications shall be submitted through Head Hunter at: https://editorialexpress.com/apply/AFTW2_2024

The admission decision will be notified individually.

Information about scholarships and registration will be made available on the homepage of the Africa Training Workshop in Workshops and summer schools at https://www.africaeconometricsociety.com/aftw-2-2024.

For more information, email Abderrahim Taamouti at [email protected].