This document discusses key concepts in statistics relevant for analyzing economic data. It covers:
1) How statistics are used to evaluate economic theory using real-world data from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rates.
2) The distinction between populations, which are all individuals of interest, and samples, which are subsets of data that can be measured to make inferences about populations.
3) Different types of economic data like cross-sectional, time series, and panel data, and how statistics are applied to samples to understand underlying data generating processes and make statements about full populations.
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Econ 307 Till Schreiber: Fall 2010 - Lecture 1
This document discusses key concepts in statistics relevant for analyzing economic data. It covers:
1) How statistics are used to evaluate economic theory using real-world data from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rates.
2) The distinction between populations, which are all individuals of interest, and samples, which are subsets of data that can be measured to make inferences about populations.
3) Different types of economic data like cross-sectional, time series, and panel data, and how statistics are applied to samples to understand underlying data generating processes and make statements about full populations.
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Econ 307 Till Schreiber
Fall 2010 - Lecture 1
Statistics • Obviously statistics are used everywhere • Working with data is crucial for everybody graduating with Econ, Business, Public Policy, IR etc. degree • What’s going to be your first job after college? – Likely it will involve data analysis • Evaluate theory with data An example • Unemployment data – http://www.bls.gov/ – Measures the percentage of the civilian labor force who does not have a job and is actively looking for one – Measured through surveys: – “Household survey. The SAMPLE is selected to reflect the entire civilian noninstitutional POPULATION. Based on responses to a series of questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over in a SAMPLE household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.” (Source: bls.gov, my emphasis) Sample vs. Population • The population is everybody of interest. You want to know certain measurable characteristics about the population • If you can’t measure everybody, you use a sample of data • This concept is most often applied to so-called cross-sectional data (meaning many different individuals at one point in time) Data Generating Process • The unemployment rate is measured each month. You can graph the rate over time, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics does. • This is so-called time series data, other examples are stock prices, interest rates, etc. • Often here economists/statisticians refer not to populations and samples but rather refer to the underlying Data Generating Process Panel Data • Obviously you can combine the two ideas • Panel data, multiple cross-sections over time • For example: – Panel of unemployment rates by county in the U.S. – http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwue kwe/multimediafinal.html From sample to population • Often as a researcher I have to make do with sample data. I can calculate statistics from this data to make statements about population parameters (whose true value I don’t know now and may never know).