Worksheets and Projects in Statistics for Economists

Business Datasets from STARS (Creation of Statistical Resources from Real Datasets) contains 4 economics-related datasets with worksheets and guides on how to manipulate and process the data. The datasets under 'Business' are: an employee satisfaction survey; a survey of students' debt levels after graduation; a survey linking fast-food consumption to media use and other lifestyle aspects; and a survey linking buyer behaviour to intensity of lighting in a supermarket. Each is available in Excel, SPSS and Minitab, with links to the appropriate software. Statistical topics covered are: descriptive statistics, charts, tests of means, tests of association, non-parametric tests, correlation and regression. The last two topics are only illustrated using the site's non-business datasets, on health and psychology.

Individualised Statistics Coursework Using Spreadsheets (ISCUS) is an Excel tool, obtainable through the site, that allows teachers to subdivide a large data set into individualised student assignments. Datasets are available on application for a password. Part of the STARS site, it also contains background papers from a 2005 conference that explain the effectiveness of individualised exercises for improved learning outcomes and avoidance of plagiarism.

This course webpage supports an introductory module on quantitative economics as taught by Fowad Murtaza and Domenico Tabasso at the University of Essex in 2009/10. It introduces students to the methods of quantitative economics, i.e. to how data are used in economics. Beginning from an elementary level (assuming no background in statistics), the course shows how economic data can be described and analysed. The elements of probability and random variables are introduced in the context of economic applications. The probability theory enables an introduction to elementary statistical inference: parameter estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. With these foundations, students are then introduced to the linear regression model that forms a starting point for econometrics. It includes a course outline / handbook, lecture presentations, lecture notes, coursework assignments, problem sets with solutions and statistical data.