Econometric Game

MSc Economics students may participate in the Econometric Game in the Netherlands with the Tor Vergata University Team.

Every year the University of Amsterdam hosts the Econometric Game, one of the most prestigious projects organized by the academic association for Actuarial Science, Econometrics & Operational Research (VSAE) of the University of Amsterdam. The participating universities are expected to send delegations of four students majoring in econometrics or relevant studies with a maximum of two PhD students. The teams will be given a case study, which they must resolve in two days. The ten teams with the best solutions will continue to day three. On the third day of the competition, the finalists solve a second case while the other teams can go sightseeing in Amsterdam. After the teams have explored the city, the Econometric Game Conference takes place, during which a variety of guest lecturers discuss the case study and explain the econometric methods necessary to solve it. A jury of qualified and independent professors review the solutions and announce the winner of the Game. Read more

EG2023 Testimonies

In 2023, during our second year of the Master of Science in Economics, we were selected to represent, together with two PhD students, the University of Rome Tor Vergata at the Econometric Game in Amsterdam.
The research topic was malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa and we were asked to use machine learning techniques to figure out which variables have the strongest predictive power on malnutrition outcomes. To set up this analysis, we had to use our coding skills to clean the raw data that we were given and prepare the final dataset.
This event was an amazing experience, and it gave us the opportunity to meet brilliant students from all around Europe (and the US!). In fact, the organizers made sure that we had enough free time to socialize with the other teams and enjoy the city. This balance between competition and socialization created a very pleasant environment, both stimulating and fun.
We strongly recommend this experience to all motivated students.

Lorenzo Bruno and Elena Parisi

EG2022 Testimonies

Given the opportunity offered by the Master of Science in Economics program, I have been honored to be selected and participate in the 2022 edition of the Econometric Game in Amsterdam, known as the “World Championship in Econometrics”. We were asked to solve a case, “Inflation through the roof”, by implementing an original approach in two days. On the third day, the first ten best universities had to solve an additional task while the others visited Amsterdam. From my perspective, it was an incredibly enlightening experience since I could test myself under pressure, learn new techniques and see the solutions of the finalist during the last-day conference. Furthermore, given that inter-personal relationships are strongly encouraged through organized events in the evening, I met students from prestigious universities worldwide. I recommend students to participate because this experience expanded my field of vision from an academic and non-academic perspective.

Jacopo Pitari

EG2021 Testimonies

In 2021, as a second-year master’s student in economics, I had the opportunity to take part in the Econometric Game as a representative of Tor Vergata. Our team consisted of four members and was expected to compete against other students from all over the world by performing a task in empirical econometrics. Namely, we were asked to estimate the causal impact of AirB&B openings on housing prices in Amsterdam, given a panel dataset with micro-level information on transactions. The atmosphere was very stimulating; there were teams from the best universities worldwide, including Harvard and Cambridge; in addition, the task involved the application of techniques that are key to modern microeconometrics, such as dif-in-dif and IV. It was an amazing experience, with huge pedagogical value. I recommend it very strongly.

Federico Marciano

EG2017 Testimonies

The Econometric Game, which is held every year in Amsterdam, has been a great opportunity to test our knowledge and to use those Econometric tools we came across during this Master program. Following the organizers' instructions, students from all over the world are asked to advance an original analysis about the given topic (this year the topic was “Crime and Safety"). We found it interesting to learn new models and estimation techniques, and to see how other students approached the case. Outside the competition, we met international students from other prestigious Universities. What struck us most was listening to their academic experiences and having stimulating conversations with them. Undoubtedly, this experience contributed to enlarge our horizons significantly."

Piero Massotti and Annalivia Polselli