BS1112 – Statistics for Economics

RESIT Statistical Report Assignment 19/20

Task 1 – Data Collection
Download the following data from the OECD website into Excel:
1. Annual real GDP data per capita for the UK and Poland for the period 2000 –
2016.
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2. Alcohol consumption (Litres per capita 15+) for the period 2000 – 2016 (for the
UK and Poland)
You will realise that there are many different types of GDP available on the OECD
webpage. It does not matter if you select the output, the expenditure or the income
approach – they all will be very similar. Select the approach that is available. The real
GDP is often referred to as GDP at constant prices. GDP per capita means GDP per
head. To be able to compare the GDP of the UK with the GDP of Poland, you have to
ensure that both are measured in the same currency, e.g. US Dollars.
Add all the raw data into the appendix of Part 1. Do not forget to present the data
in a user-friendly way. Also state precisely which data you have selected (Hint: Meta
data information, which can be accessed through clicking on the ‘i’ next to the variable
name.)
Task 2 – Calculations and descriptive statistics
• Calculate the annual growth rate of real GDP per capita for the UK and Poland.
The formula for the growth rate is:
GDP growtht =
GDPt − GDPt−1
GDPt−1
× 100 (1)
Add the column / row of economic growth to your raw dataset in the appendix.
• Calculate the mean economic per capita growth rate and alcohol consumption for
both countries.
• Present numeric descriptive statistics (Mean, Median, Max, Min, Std. Dev. and
Skewness) for the level of real GDP per capita, real GDP per capita growth and
alcohol consumption. The descriptive statistics table for both countries has to be
presented in the main body of your report.
Task 3 – Graphical Methods
You have to produce three charts:
1. Create a line chart that compares the real GDP per capita growth rate from 2000
– 2016 of the UK and Poland.
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2. Create a bar chart that compares mean real GDP per capita growth rates for the
UK and Poland.
3. Create a scatter plot which shows the relationship between the level of real GDP
per capita and alcohol consumption. Advice: Pool the data for the UK and Poland
you have selected.
Charts have to be clearly labelled and presented. The charts have to be included in the
main body of the report.
Task 4 – Write a statistical brief
Using the charts and the numerical descriptive statistics, write a statistical report about
the economic development of the two countries and the relationship between GDP per
capita and alcohol consumption. You have to describe your charts and explain any
patterns of interest. Good answers will be able to link the observations with economic
theory. Include the following in each section of the report:
Introduction: Provide an outline of the topic of your report and highlight its relevance
(word limit: 150).
10 marks
Main Body: This part contains your analysis and interpretation of your findings. All
charts and the descriptive statistics table have to be presented in this section. Do
not use bullet points – this is a report not a power point presentation (word limit:
600).
65 marks
Conclusion: Conclude your report by summarising your findings, provide an outlook for
further investigations and / or policy recommendations (word limit: 150).
10 marks
References: Add a reference section at the end of the report conforming to the (British)
Harvard-style referencing. Present here all the source you have used throughout
this report.
Appendix: Include all the raw data in this section. Ensure that the data is well presented. Add here also any formulas and commands you have used to generate your
statistics.
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The overall formatting of the report, e.g. how the references and the data in the appendix
are presented, is worth 15 marks.
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2 Survey analysis using SPSS (Report 2)
This part is worth 60% of the overall assignment mark. This part of the report should
not exceed 7 typed pages of A4 including appendices. On Blackboard you will find a data
file (CPS91.sav) from the Current Population Survey 91 under the section “Individual
Coursework”. See below for details about the survey. You have to use this dataset for
your report.
Based on this dataset, you are asked to write a report on the economic circumstances of
wives in the US in 1991. Using hypothesis tests, you have to answer the following three
research questions:
1. Does having a young child (younger than 6 years old) affect whether a wife is part
of the labour force or not? Use cross-tabulations with the associated χ
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test.
2. Is there a difference in the average non-wife family income between wives that are
part of the labour force and wives that are not part of the labour force? Use a
comparison-of-means test.
3. What is the relationship between wife’s years of schooling and wife’s weekly earnings? Produce a correlation coefficient and test its statistical significance.
Report 2 should have the following structure:
• Introduction
• Descriptive statistics
• Hypothesis tests
• Summary/Conclusion
• References
• Appendix
Complete the following tasks:
2.1 Introduction (5 marks)
Introduce the research questions and highlight their relevance.
(Maximum 100 words)
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2.2 Descriptive statistics (15 marks)
Generate descriptive statistics using tables and graphs with SPSS. You have to provide
information for the reader about the sample and variables of interests.
(Maximum 150 words)
2.3 Hypothesis tests (60 marks)
Explain and undertake here the three hypothesis test to answer the research questions
stated above. The analysis of your results is very important, so you must discuss the
results and not just present them! Do not shy back from supporting your arguments
with economic theory.
(Maximum 700 words)
2.4 Summary/Conclusion (10 marks)
Summarise your main results and provide conclusions.
(Maximum 150 words)
The formatting of the report is important and worth 10 marks
More Information on the Data
A reduced form of the Current Population Survey (CPS, Current Population Survey
March 1991 Tape Technical Documentation / prepared by Data User Services Division,
Data Access and Use Staff, Bureau of the Census. -Washington: The Bureau, 1991)
is the dataset for this assignment. In the following a shortened description of the CPS
is presented (Source: http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/sci_data/census/cps/type_
txt/cps91.asp, accessed on 06/02/20):
Type of File: Microdata; unit of observation is individuals, families, and households.
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Universe Description: The universe is the civilian non-institutional population of
the United States living in housing units and members of the Armed Forces living
in civilian housing units on a military base or in a household not on a military
base. A probability sample is used in selecting housing units.
Subject-Matter Description This file, also known as the Annual Demographic File,
provides the usual monthly labor force data, but in addition, provides supplemental
data on work experience, income, etc. Data on employment and income refer to
the preceding year, although demographic data refer to the time of the survey.
Characteristics such as age, sex, race, household relationship, and Spanish origin
are shown for each person in the household enumerated.
The reduced CPS for 1991 contains 23 variables and has a sample of 5,634. For your
coursework you will need to select variables of your interest. The tables below summarises the variables in the dataset. It is up you to use which variables you use!
Variable name Variable description
husage Husband’s age
husunion =1 if husband part of an union
husearns Husband’s weekly earnings
huseduc Husband’s years of schooling
husblck =1 if husband is black
hushisp =1 if husband is hispanic
hushrs Husband’s weekly hours of work
kidge6 =1 if there is a child 6 years or older
earns Wife’s weekly earnings
age Wife’s age
black =1 if wife is black
educ Wife’s years of schooling
hispanic =1 if wife is hispanic
union =1 if wife is part of an union
faminc Annual family income
husexp Husband’s work experience (huseduc – husage – 6)
exper Wife’s work experience (age – educ – 6)
kidlt6 =1 if there is a child younger than 6 years old
hours Wife’s weekly hours of work
nwifeinc Non-wife family annual income, in $1000s
inlf =1 if wife is in labor force
hrwage Hourly wage of wife (earns/hours)
hushrwage Hourly wage of husband (husearns/hushrs)