Descriptive Statistics
Measures of central tendency: mean, median, and mode
Cao Hao Thi
- MBB2, Chapter 2
Problem Set 1 Distributed
Descriptive Statistics
Measures of variability and correlation: variance, standard deviation, covariance and correlation
Cao Hao Thi
- MBB2, Chapter 2
Review
Hoang Van Thang
The Quantitative Methods course is designed with two objectives. The first is to provide participants with the ability to analyze critically quantitative and empirical analysis done by others and to use that analysis in the design of public policy. The second is to provide students with the skills necessary to perform quantitative policy analysis on their own.
The course includes two main parts:
- Applied statistics
- Econometrics
The applied statistics module will review fundamental concepts of statistics, including descriptive statistics, basic probability, probability distributions, sampling and sample distribution, estimation and hypothesis testing. This module provides the foundation for participants to study econometric analysis.
The second half of the course is devoted to the teaching of fundamental tools of econometrics. The module introduces the standard methods for estimating relationships among observed social and economic variables and for testing hypotheses about their relationships. Participants will learn how to use models, data, and appropriate analysis to describe the real world and to contribute to policy discussions. Participants will be introduced to the power of econometric methods while also noted about their limitations. The focus will be on formulation, estimation, testing of econometric models, and discussing policy implications from econometric findings. In addition, participants will also learn how to carry out an empirical study through a term project. The course will be required the use of specialized software packages such as Eviews and Stata.
Given its technical nature, the Quantitative Methods course is a very challenging subject for participants. It is absolutely critical that participants have to maintain a steady pace of study. Simple memorization, and last-minute studying will not help to understand well the application to the real world. Therefore, if participants encounter any problems or have any questions, make sure to seek help from the teaching team as early as possible. It is important to understand concepts and develop the ability to apply them to the solutions of various problems. This takes practice. The lectures, textbooks, handouts, problem sets, and the term project are all designed to help our participants develop these skills.
