Stata & Python Advice

[Fahad Mirza]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking for advice regarding what to learn for data science in economics. I am having trouble understanding which software I should go for. Many people online talk about using Julia or Python or R. I however, am quite comfortable using STATA and seeing how STATA 16 has Python integration, I am somewhat inclined on learning Python.

Will it be the rational choice to go for Python or should i be looking at other softwares? What also drives me towards Python is that it can be used in softwares like ArcGIS as well which is useful in economic applications. If i do want to learn Python then is there a source that I can look at which shows how to use STATA & Python together? If not then what source would you recommend to look into for learning Data Science using Python which I can later also use in STATA 16 as well?

Your valuable input will be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Fahad Mirza]

Any help?

[Marcos Almeida]

I'm not at ease to talk about this subject, but a good starting point is the Stata Programming Reference Manual. Up to now, I tend to think that the newly-arrived Python, already fashionable, is really great in terms of programming (and this is probably the reason of its out-of-the-blue success). But data science is much more than that, I mean, we need most of the time to apply data management strategies and statistical resources to solve issues. Being out of fashion, I prefer to use each software separately. R on R. Stata on Stata. Python on Python. Going to and fro. Maybe I'll change my mind some day. Hopefully you'll get a more clarifying reply.

[Jacob Sano]

Fahad,

In my experience, Stata is easily the go-to tool for econometric analysis. If that's what you're looking for you're already in the right place. I often hear that learning Python is easier than learning intricacies of Stata programming, so if you're looking for increased flexibility with programming commands, Stata's Python integration could certainly be something that may help you. It's unclear what functions you're looking for outside of Stata's functionality, which is probably contributing to the lack of answers to your question.