EC203 Economic Statistics

Dr. Hong Chen School of Economics, FBE, USP

Contact your lecturer & tutor:

Lecturer: Dr Hong Chen Email: chen_h@usp.ac.fj Office: 014-S211 Phone: 3232579 Tutor: Mr Markand Bhatt Email: bhatt_m@usp.ac.fj Office: 014-S255 Phone: 3232177
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Meet your lecturer & tutor:

Lectures: Tuesday Wednesday Friday 09:00-10:00 08:00-09:00 13:00-14:00 (Venue: 092-001) (Venue: 092-001) (Venue: 092-001)

Tutorials: Lab sessions: Consultation:

One hour each week starting in week 2. Two hours every two weeks starting in week 3 or 4. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday 14:00-15:00 10:00-11:00 09:00-10:00 11:00-13.00 (Venue: 014-S255) (Venue: 014-S211) (Venue: 014-S211) (Venue: 014-S255)
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WHAT IS STATISTICS & WHY STUDY STATISTICS

Data and numerical information are everywhere in todays world: e.g., currency exchange rates in the world market, population census within a country, prices of agricultural products in a region, monthly living expenses of a family, and exam grades of students in a university. What do all these data tell us, and how can we make good use of them?
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WHAT IS STATISTICS & WHY STUDY STATISTICS

Statistics is a tool for creating better understanding from a set of numbers. Statistics deals with the collection, organization and interpretation of data, and provides information to decision makers. E.g.
People selling crabs in the Suva market do walk around and meet fellow salesmen before making decisions on the prices;
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WHAT IS STATISTICS & WHY STUDY STATISTICS

MH supermarket managers should have a good understanding about consumption preferences of target consumers, exchange rate of Fijian currency, transport cost, etc. before they decide to import certain food from overseas; and Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics conducts household surveys to find out the welfare of Fijian people.

WHAT IS STATISTICS & WHY STUDY STATISTICS

Statistics investigates real problems in the practical world

It has extensive applications in many areas such as economics, business, marketing, finance, computing, physics, climatology, etc.

Study statistics provides good career opportunities

COURSE CONTENTS
An introductory course in statistics designed for students in economics, accounting, banking and finance and management. Emphasis is placed on the application of statistical techniques to those disciplines. A basic knowledge of economics is required.

COURSE CONTENTS
Topics include:
Data collection, charts and graphs Descriptive statistics Probability and distributions Statistical inferences Analysis of continuous/discrete data Estimation and hypothesis testing, and Introduction to econometrics (including simple/multiple regression analyses, timeseries forecasting, etc)
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completing this course, you are expected to:
Express a problem in statistical terms, i.e., in terms of data and providing statistical information; Distinguish between population and sample, and choose an appropriate sample design for selecting a sample from a population;

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

Summarize data graphically and numerically; Run simple/multiple regressions to analyze issues in economics, accounting, and finance; Understand the assumptions of the linear models, and Interpret regression results.

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LECTURES, TUTORIALS & COMPUTER LAB SESSIONS

Three hours of lectures per week One hour tutorial per week Two hours of computer lab every 2 weeks
Sign up for tutorial and computer lab session on MOODLE Your place in a slot of tutorial/computer lab session cannot be changed unless with the permission from lecturer

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LECTURES, TUTORIALS & COMPUTER LAB SESSIONS Attending tutorial is IMPORTANT

Inform your tutor before hand if you cannot attend it You will be dropped out from the course given your absence from two successive tutorials without explanation

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LECTURES, TUTORIALS & COMPUTER LAB SESSIONS

There is a set of exercises each week
Complete those exercises before attending tutorials Solutions will be put on MOODLE in the week after the tutorial In computer labs you learn how to use Excel for statistical analyses All calculations will be done on a calculator or Excel

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COURSE MATERIALS
Black et al. (2010) Australasian Business Statistics, 2nd Edition, Wiley.
(Note: Black et al. 1st Edition will also do.)

Eton Statistical & Math Tables, Heinemann Education, 1980.

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LECTURE TOPICS & TIME SCHEDULE

Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Topic 1. Data Collection, Charts and Graphs 2. Descriptive Statistics 3. Probability 4. Discrete and Continuous Distributions 5. Sampling and Sampling Distribution 6. Statistical Inference (Part I) 7. Statistical Inference (Part II) Mid-term break 8. Statistical Inference (Part III) 9. Analysis of Variance 10. Analysis of Categorical Data 11. Simple Regression Analysis 12. Multiple Regression Analysis 13. Time-series Forecasting Revision Study week Final Examination
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Covered in Chapters of the textbook Chapters 1 and 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapters 5 and 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapters 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapters 13 Chapter 14 and 15 Chapter 16

ASSESSMENT
1) Coursework (50%) 2 quizzes 2 tests 2 lab tests 1 assignment Tutorial Participation Total 2) Final examination (50%)

5% (Quiz 1 Week 4; Quiz 2 Week 9) 20% (Test 1 Week 6; Test 2 Week 12) 10% (in 3rd and 5th lab sessions respectively) 10% (Due Week 13) 5% 50%

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GRADES
The letter grade scale for this course is follows:
A+ A B+ B C+ C D E 80% and over 75-79% 70-74% 65-69% 60-64% 50-59% 40-49% below 40%

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ACADEMIC HONESTY

The USPs standard regulations on plagiarism and dishonest practice apply to the coursework and examination. More information on assessment regulations can be accessed on the webpage http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=2838.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

ECONOMIC STUDENT ASSOCIATION Tutorials MOODLE Labs Quiz

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