View Specification DocumentEmpirical Finance ACCFIN5276
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: Adam Smith Business School
- Credits: 15
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course equips students with the advanced empirical and computational tools required to conduct rigorous quantitative research in finance. Students will develop a critical understanding of causal inference methods (including difference-in-differences, matching estimators, regression discontinuity designs, and discrete choice models) and their appropriate application in financial contexts. The course further develops students' ability to model dynamic relationships in financial systems through vector autoregressions and identified impulse response functions, with emphasis on counterfactual reasoning and structural interpretation. Students will also engage with the analysis of financial and asset pricing data to uncover seasonality, cyclical variation, and latent patterns using modern statistical and computational techniques. Throughout, the course cultivates the capacity to evaluate, interpret, and communicate empirical findings in ways that inform real-world financial decision-making and the critical assessment of alternative financial strategies.
Timetable
10 x 2 hour practical classes and workshops
Requirements of Entry
Students must be registered on one of the associated programmes listed in this course specification.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
1. Project; Individual; 2,500 words; 100%; ILOs 1-4.
Course Aims
The aim of this course is to:
■ Introduce students to the foundational and frontier tools of quantitative empirical research.
■ Develop students' ability to model and interpret the dynamic behaviour of financial and macroeconomic variables over time.
■ Strengthen students' capacity to translate quantitative results into meaningful insights relevant to investment, policy, and corporate decision-making.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Critically interpret empirical evidence from international financial data using advanced causal inference and time series methods.
2. Design, estimate, and validate econometric models for testing finance hypotheses and evaluating financial relationships.
3. Develop evidence-based financial strategies using advanced empirical methods.
4. Demonstrate adaptability in applying evolving empirical methods and tools to financial problems.