ECON 307 Economic Data Analysis
Using, interpreting, and understanding data is increasingly important for understanding the magnitude, determinants, and solutions to social issues. This course provides an introduction to economic data analysis, discussing how economists quantify key concepts, test theories using empirical data, and evaluate policy effectiveness. Students will learn basic statistical methods and data analysis techniques, including how to clean, visualize, and analyze data using statistical programming packages. The course will also present an intuition-based introduction to regressions and causal inference. We will develop these skills discussing data and models from a range of topics, including poverty and inequality, macroeconomic growth, health, and education.