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University of Colorado -- Boulder Department of Economics Economics 3818 Prof. Jeffrey S. Zax Syllabus and Schedule 27 August 2001 Welcome. I am Prof. Jeffrey S. Zax. This is Economics 3818, Introduction to Statistics With Computer Applications. This class will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:00 a.m. until 10:50 a.m. throughout the semester in Duane Physics G125. Cristobal Ridao-Cano will conduct three recitation sessions each week: Monday 8:00a.m.-8:50a.m. in Guggenheim 2, Monday 1:00p.m.-1:50p.m. in Ketchum 120 and Wednesday 2:00p.m.2:50p.m. in Duane GIB39. I will hold regular office hours between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Mondays and Wednesdays in my office , Economics 111. Appointments can be made for meetings at other times, if these are inconvenient. In particular, any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a disability should arrange to meet with me immediately. The purpose of this course is to establish basic competency in statistical analysis. This includes familiarity with the formal properties of the covariance, the correlation coefficient, essential probability distributions, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals and regression analysis. It also includes an intuitive understanding of the value of these properties, as well as of the appropriate use of numerical data as evidence. Lastly, it includes some capacity to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate statistical arguments. The material to be mastered in this class is contained in the lectures and recitations, the assigned textbook, Statistics for Economics: An Intuitive Approach by Alan S. Caniglia, problem sets and computer exercises. The material on summations in Caniglia's Chapter 2 is prerequisite for this course. Performance in this class will be judged on the basis of several instruments. The final examination will be worth 150 points. Three midterm examinations, worth a total of 130 points, will take place on 21 September, 17 October and 7 November, unless class progress deviates from my current expectations. Problem sets or computer exercises worth 120 points, in total, will be assigned for most, if not all recitations. Solutions to the midterm examinations, problem sets and computer exercises will be available soon after they are due, hopefully via WebCT. The course as a whole is valued at 400 points. The score attained by each student, evaluated relative to those of other students in the class and to the score which would be attained by an intelligent student of introductory statistics, will determine final letter grades. This course has the following tentative schedule, referencing chapters in the Caniglia textbook: -1- Course logistics, prerequisites, philosophy. Review of the summation operator. Introduction 27 August Chapters 2, 3 29, 31 August, 5 September Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and dispersion. Chapter 4 7, 10, 12 September The relationships between populations and samples. Chapter 5 14, 17, 19, September Basic probability concepts, the addition rule, the multiplication rule, and Bayes' Theorem. Midterm examination 21 September 45 points Chapter 6 24, 26, 28 September, 1, 3 October Essential univariate probability distributions, especially the binomial. normal and t distributions. Chapter 7 8, 10, 12, 15 October The expectation operator. Midterm examination 17 October 40 points Chapter 8 . 19, 22, 24, 26 October Joint probability distributions, covariance and correlation, functions of random variables. Chapter 9 29, 31 October, 2, 5 November Applications of chapter 8: properties of the sample average. Midterm examination 7 November 45 points Chapter 10 9, 12, 14 November Statistical properties of estimat ors. Chapter 11 16, 19, 21 November Confidence intervals. Chapter 12 26, 28, 30 November Hypothesis tests. Chapter 13 3, 5, 7 December The two-variable regression model. Chapter 14 10, 12 December The multi-variate regression model. Final Examination 14 December, 4: 30p.m.-7 :OOp.m. 150 points -2-