Course Assistants:

• Brendan Cleary, bcleary@wesleyan.edu (Sundays, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, PAC 104)
• Seitaro Takarabe, stakarabe@wesleyan.edu (Tuesdays, 8:45 - 9:45 PM, PAC 136)

Goals and Description:

Upon successful completion of this course you should be a (more) sophisticated consumer and producer of statistical analyses. The material will prepare you to undertake applied statistical work in other courses. Along the way you should learn statistical theory, empirical research techniques, and computer skills.

Pre-requisites:

Economics: Econ 110. Mathematics: Math 117 and 118 or equivalent credit. If you have questions about the pre-requisites, please ask. Econ 300 is required for a major in Economics. Econ 300 must be completed before Econ 301 and 302.

Readings:

The textbook is Wonnacott and Wonnacott, Introductory Statistics for Business and Economics, 4th edition (1990). Assignments will refer to chapters and questions in this text. Reading ahead is a good way to prepare for lecture. Additional materials may be handed out in class and/or made available on the course web page.

Exams:

Midterm #1 will be held in class on Wednesday, October 3. Midterm #2 will be held in class on Monday, November 5. The final exam is scheduled for Monday, December 17, 2 - 5 PM. Exams will be given at these times only. Do not enroll for this course if you cannot attend the exams as scheduled.

Problem Sets:

Problem sets are designed to help you master the material. Although the problem sets will not be collected or graded, understanding the material contained in the problem sets will be essential to performing well on the exams.

Some problem sets will require you to download data and/or to use statistical software in the PAC lab, namely Excel and EViews. Basic instructions for these packages will be provided through the QAC.

Research Paper:

The research paper is intended for you to develop some ``hands-on'' experience with statistical techniques. A good paper will interest both you and me, utilize concepts learned in the course, and may lead to further work in other courses or an eventual thesis topic.

The research paper must be submitted by 4 PM on Monday, December 10, the final day of the semester. A proposal will be due by Monday, November 19. Late papers will not be accepted. More details will be made available by the third week of class.

Review Sessions:

Review sessions and/or extra office hours will be scheduled prior to each exam. Attendance is recommended but optional. Stay tuned!

Honor Code:

All work submitted for a grade in this course must be your own original work. You are encouraged to discuss the problem sets with your fellow students, but in accordance with the Honor Code, submitting another student's answers as your own would constitute plagiarism and will not be tolerated. The research paper cannot be submitted in another course without express permission from both myself and the instructor of the other course. If you have any questions about the application of the honor code, please contact me.

Contact:

Electronic mail is my preferred way of being contacted. Normally I will respond within a day, excluding illness and travel. My office is room 308 PAC. If the door is open you should feel free to drop in, but understand I may be occupied and need to schedule an appointment later. If the door is closed, I am either not in or do not wish to be disturbed.

Feedback:

I welcome suggestions that you think would improve the quality of this course. Please feel free to contact me in person or via e-mail. Useful feedback will be beneficial to you as well as me!