ECON 491

Spring 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Jan 20-May 6

Topics in Econometrics

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

Special topics applying advanced econometrics concepts. Students will use quantitative analysis and economic theories to answer economic questions and uncover relationships between variables across a variety of topics; instruction in statistical and computing techniques as needed.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary, repeatability for undergraduate students unlimited; for graduate students to a maximum of 8 credit hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203; ECON 302; and MATH 220/221 or Calculus I equivalent. See Class Schedule for other prerequisites as indicated depending on topic and content.

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ECON 491 class schedule data for spring 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
76171	Lecture-Discussion	A3	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	215B David Kinley Hall	Cunha Medeiros, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTERMEDIATE ECONOMETRICS Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. NO CREDIT FOR THIS COURSE IF YOU TOOK ECON 471 BEFORE SP25, EXCEPT FOR GRADE REPLACEMENT. DESCRIPTION for INTERMEDIATE ECONOMETRICS: This course is designed to provide students with the essential data analysis skills required to be competitive in the labor market in the new age of AI and is a foundation for advanced 400-level courses including (but not limited to) causal inference, machine learning, forecasting, policy analysis, and financial econometrics. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Mathematics or Actuarial Science or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
76172	Lecture-Discussion	A4	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	215B David Kinley Hall	Cunha Medeiros, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: INTERMEDIATE ECONOMETRICS Section Info: Please see the 3-credit section of this title for the course description. Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
75725	Lecture-Discussion	B3	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	125 David Kinley Hall	Toossi, A	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: APPLIED GAME THEORY Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for APPLIED GAME THEORY: Game theory is the study of mathematical models that analyze strategic interactions among rational decision-makers. It examines how individuals or groups make decisions when their choices affect one another. This course introduces the core concepts of game theory and demonstrates how they can be applied to understand economic and social phenomena. We will explore applications of game theory in areas such as environmental economics, development economics, political economy, and experimental economics, while also discussing its role in explaining the evolution of cooperation Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
75726	Lecture-Discussion	B4	11:00AM -12:20PM	TR	125 David Kinley Hall	Toossi, A	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: APPLIED GAME THEORY Section Info: Open seats are restricted to MSPE students. Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
74775	Lecture-Discussion	D3	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	215 David Kinley Hall	Bilias, Y	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING: ECON Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Applied Machine Learning, Econ: Students will gain exposure to a variety of machine learning approaches for supervised and unsupervised learning. Topics include regularized approaches like lasso and ridge regression, trees, boosting, support vector machines, cluster analysis, and predictive assessment using cross validation. Emphasis is given on applications with the use of a programming language like R or Python. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
74776	Lecture-Discussion	D4	12:30PM -1:50PM	TR	215 David Kinley Hall	Bilias, Y	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING: ECON Section Info: DESCRIPTION: Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. Please see the 3-credit section of this title for course description. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Economics department. Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
74773	Lecture-Discussion	E3	9:30AM -10:50AM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Creal, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: BAYESIAN MACHINE LEARNING Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for BAYESIAN DATA ANALYSIS & MACHINE LEARNING: This course is a junior/senior level undergrad class in Bayesian machine learning. The goal of the course to introduce students to Bayesian econometrics and statistics as well as frequentist methods that are common in economics, finance, marketing, and business applications. It aims to improve students quantitative skills. The course will make use of the R programming language. The course will cover (i) fundamentals of Bayesian econometrics and statistics; (ii) beta-binomial model; (ii) simple linear and multiple linear regression models with conjugate priors; (iii) Monte Carlo simulation techniques including Markov chain Monte Carlo; (iv) Bayesian model averaging for linear regression (v) Bayesian regression trees and forests (vi) Poisson and negative binomial regression (viii) logistic and Probit regression (iix) fundamental time series models (ix) Bayesian neural networks. PREREQUISITES: Math 231. Linear Algebra is recommended. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
74774	Lecture-Discussion	E4	9:30AM -10:50AM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Creal, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: BAYESIAN MACHINE LEARNING Section Info: Open seats are restricted to MSPE students. Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
74771	Lecture-Discussion	F3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	110 Inst Gov & Public Affairs Bldg	Alonso Fontes, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: DATA ANALYSIS: PROBLEM SOLVING Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Data Analysis for Problem Solving: Students in this course will work in groups to organize and analyze a data set, develop models, solve problems, and present results. Classes will alternate discussions about each step of the process with computer lab work. This class focuses on the process, rather than the results, of data analysis and problem-solving. Participation and presentations will be part of the graded work. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: Econ 203 and practical experience with R or Python. Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
74772	Lecture-Discussion	F4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	110 Inst Gov & Public Affairs Bldg	Alonso Fontes, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: DATA ANALYSIS: PROBLEM SOLVING Section Info: Graduate credit requires an additional paper or project beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit section of this title for course description. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: Econ 503 (MSPE students) or Econ 203 (undergraduate students) and practical experience with R or Python. MSPE students without Econ 503 credit and undergraduate students without Econ 203 or equivalent credit will be removed from this course. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
78155	Lecture-Discussion	G3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Weinstein, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKETS Section Info: DESCRIPTION for EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKETS: This course focuses on topics related to education and labor markets, in which students will conduct independent research using data, econometric methods, and economic intuition. In the first part of the semester, the class will study academic papers in the following broad area: what is the impact of policies or economic shocks on education and employment outcomes of people and places? We will focus on understanding why the research question in these papers is interesting and important, and on the econometric methods used to identify the causal impact of the policy or the shock. In the second part of the course, students will focus on writing an empirical paper of their own on these topics, with a focus on identifying an interesting economic question, obtaining data, and implementing an econometric method that will identify causal effects. PREREQUISITES: ECON 203; ECON 302; MATH 220/MATH 221. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
78156	Lecture-Discussion	G4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	123 David Kinley Hall	Weinstein, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/20/26-05/06/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKETS Section Info: Open seats are restricted to MSPE students. Students registered for graduate credit must complete additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements. Contact instructor for details when instruction begins. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.