SYLLABUS

 

ECO320 Economic Statistics Fall 2002
Professor K. Lahiri, Office BA129B
Phone: 442-4758
Most of the class material including this Syllabus will be at http://www.albany.edu/~aeco320

This outline of the course is a contract between you and me. You will not be responsible for things not outlined in the syllabus. Your enrollment in this course implies your acceptance of the terms of this contract and commitment to the course.

Prerequisites:

Eco 110M and 111M; plus Eco 210 (formerly Eco 180) or Mat 106 or 111 or 112 or 118. The Economics Department intends to deregister students whose Albany course records do not show these prerequisites. Deregistered students will be assigned a W grade by the registrar. Individual exceptions to the prerequisite requirements require my written permission and the approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Economics during the drop/add period.

Course Description:

Economic Statistics applies statistical theory to economic and business data in an attempt to quantitatively measure relationships. In this course you will learn how to describe statistical data and read popular material involving statistical results. Students will learn to perform analysis of statistical relationships using various procedures and to interpret their results. The special nature of economic statistics will be emphasized.

Office Hours:

MWF 12:20pm - 1:15pm at BA 129B, or by appointment. Contact me (day or night) via  klahiri@albany.edu

Class Hours:

Section 1608: MWF 11:15 -12:10; ED 120

Section 1609: MWF   1:25 -  2:20; CH 151

Teaching Assistant:

1) Evangelos Koelis, Office BA 127S, Office hrs.: TTH 11:15-12:15pm.
    Email: kouelis@hotmail.com
 
Excel Tutorial:

Go to the following web sites to get a nice tutorial on Excel: Guides to Excel

Required Materials:

Mansfield, E. Statistics for Business and Economics, 5th Ed.
Access to Microsoft Excel, version 5.0 or up

Grading: Your course grade will be based on best two of the three in-class tests (no make up tests), homework, and a final exam with weights as follows:

I will grade exams, homework, and finals on a straight percentage scale with no curve.

In-class Tests:

There will be three in-class tests. Each test will typically include material covered since the previous test, but any material covered up to that point is fair play. I will give no make-up tests. If you must miss a test because of a personal emergency, you must inform me prior to the test. I will count the best two. If you wish to contest a test grade, you should do so at the time you receive the graded test. Under no circumstances (barring mathematical error on my part) will I change a test grade after I have announced final grades for the course.


Be very clear when answering test questions; in the case of conflict between what you said and what you meant, you will be graded based on what you said.

 

Homework:

There will be four homework assignments in this course. All of them will involve statistical analysis of real-world data performed with Microsoft Excel version 5.0 or higher. Access to MS Excel is provided on the machines in LC.
All assignments will involve a substantial writing part as you should be able to not only get correct numerical results but also to interpret them.

Final Exam:

The final will be comprehensive and will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions and problems similar to the ones I give on tests.

Attendance:

If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain the notes and assignments from one of the other students. It is essential that you attend all class sessions. I will take attendance on a regular basis, and this information will be also be used for final grades.

Academic Integrity:

The seeking or giving of unauthorized help, or the use of unauthorized resources on exams, homework, or class projects is a violation of academic integrity and will result in the immediate failure of the student for the course and the filing of charges of academic dishonesty.

Miscellaneous:

The use of electronic devices such as pagers, beepers and cell phones tends to interrupt the lecture process and therefore will not be tolerated. Please refrain from the use of the above devices during the scheduled class sessions. While I do not expect you to comprehend the material fully during class sessions, you should be able to get a good enough idea so that you can follow the lecture. If for some reason you feel lost during lecture and cannot get on the right track please stop me. Specific questions regarding the material are always helpful and welcome. If you however feel that you are generally falling behind for some reason, please see me as soon as possible during my posted office hours. The material is intense, especially after the first week of the course, and if you wait too long you may not be salvageable.

Projected Course Outline:

Here are the chapters of the book I intend to cover. The topics mentioned under each chapter will carry most of the weight but will by no means be the only items taught. For each chapter I will mention which parts you should read and pay special attention to. This list is subject to revision.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Statistics

Chapter 2 Summary and Description of Data

Chapter 4 Probability Distributions and Expected Values

Chapter 8 Statistical Estimation

Chapter 9 Hypothesis Testing

Chapter 12 Regression and Correlation Techniques

Chapter 13 Multiple Regression and Correlation

Chapter 14 Introduction to Time Series

Chapter 15 Index Numbers

Handouts