Economics 195 Using Economic Data in Policy Analysis Professor Woolf Fall 2010 General Information: Phone: 656-0190 Office: 339 Old Mill Email: [email protected] Class meeting time: MWF 12:50 – 1:40 Room 105 Marsh Life Sciences Office Hours: MWF 8:00 – 9:30. You do not need an appointment to see me during my scheduled office hours. Books: Required: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte (Graphic Press) Recommended: The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White (any edition) Economical Writing, by Deirdre McCloskey Description: This course is designed to provide students with basic skills relating to how to find, understand, use, and communicate data. It is not a statistics class, nor a substitute for a statistics class. It is a class in which you will learn how to locate and use data, and how to avoid misuse of data. Communication skills are, and will be, an increasingly important part of anyone’s professional life. This class will focus on communicating information about the economy in ways that use your skills and background in economics. To that end, it will require the integration of economic theory, statistics, numbers, graphs, writing, and oral presentation. The focus of the course will be on using data to communicate and analyze economic problems and policy solutions. The course assumes you know how to navigate the web, how to manipulate data in Excel spreadsheets, use Excel to create graphs, and basic knowledge of Powerpoint. It also assumes you know, understand, and can use basic English language writing and speaking skills. Grading: Class participation and activities 20% Homework/Short Papers 40% Projects 40% Data Sources: Best single source is Resources for Economists on the internet http://rfe.org (click on the data link) Census Bureau www.census.gov Lots of data from decennial censuses and surveys; a lot more information than you might think; also some international data Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov Data on labor markets, prices, and more Bureau of Economic Analysis www.bea.gov GDP, state and local income, internationalStatistical Abstract of the United States http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ data on everything from soup to nuts Budget of the United States Main Page http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/ Historical Tables http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy11/hist.html Economic Report of the President http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/ data and good narrative on policy issues World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/ international data, and not just economic Historical Statistics of the United States http://hsus.cambridge.org/HSUSWeb/HSUSEntryServlet Course Schedule and Topics: Note for each section, you will be responsible for reading and being prepared to discuss the most recent data, news releases, and press analyses of the data under discussion. To that end, you should be reading, on a daily basis, The Wall Street Journal, NY Times (especially the business section), and/or The Economist. Other readings will be provided during the semester. Aug 30: Basics of graphical design: What works and why, data sources, understanding data, identifying high quality data, use of Excel and Powerpoint Sept 13: Nominal and real dollars and GDP and its components Sept 20: Labor market, unemployment and jobs Sept 27: Inflation Oct 4: Taxes and tax burdens Oct 11: Interest rates and present values Oct 18: Federal budget, deficit, and debt Oct 25: Energy issues Nov 1: Social Security Nov 8: International trade Nov 15: Comparative development Nov 29: Class