Students

ECON6034 – Econometrics and Business Statistics

2024 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Hanbat Jeong
hanbat.jeong@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertFin or GradDipAppFin or MAppEcon or MAppFin or MAppFin(Adv) or MBkgFin or MBusAnalytics
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit is designed to bring students with no econometrics background to an intermediate level in econometrics. Starting from first principles, the unit outlines standard econometric methods to the extent necessary for students to understand key concepts, apply basic methods, and interpret empirical research results in economics, finance and business. The unit material also includes elementary discussions of violations of the standard assumptions for a regression model, such as autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply basic statistical techniques to different economic and business problems.
  • ULO2: Evaluate and use appropriate econometric tools to model, estimate and forecast economic data.
  • ULO3: Apply research skills to select, compare and utilise econometric models.
  • ULO4: Utilise appropriate practices to work effectively in a group.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments)

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Group assignment 30% No Week 12 Wednesday 11.55pm
Final Examination 35% No University Examination Week
Class Test 2 20% No Week 10
Class Test 1 15% No Week 6

Group assignment

Assessment Type 1: Quantitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 12 Wednesday 11.55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

The assignment will require students to critically analyse some sets of data using the econometric software and regression models (including time-series and cross-sectional data). The group will estimate a variety of different models, compare and contrast the outcomes, and assess the suitability of the models for the analysis.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply basic statistical techniques to different economic and business problems.
  • Evaluate and use appropriate econometric tools to model, estimate and forecast economic data.
  • Apply research skills to select, compare and utilise econometric models.
  • Utilise appropriate practices to work effectively in a group.

Final Examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 17.50 hours
Due: University Examination Week
Weighting: 35%

 

A two-hour examination will be held during the University Examination Period, and will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply basic statistical techniques to different economic and business problems.
  • Evaluate and use appropriate econometric tools to model, estimate and forecast economic data.
  • Apply research skills to select, compare and utilise econometric models.

Class Test 2

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 20%

 

A 75 minute test consisting of multiple-choice and short-answer questions will be held during the lecture in week 10.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply basic statistical techniques to different economic and business problems.
  • Evaluate and use appropriate econometric tools to model, estimate and forecast economic data.

Class Test 1

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 7.5 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 15%

 

A 75 minute test consisting of multiple-choice and short-answer questions will be held during the lecture in week 6.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply basic statistical techniques to different economic and business problems.
  • Evaluate and use appropriate econometric tools to model, estimate and forecast economic data.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

DELIVERY FORMAT

This unit combines tutorials and lectures. Each week, there will be a one-hour face-to-face and recorded lecture. Starting from week 2, weekly one-hour tutorials will be held to review assigned problems. You can find the recorded lecture streams in the ECHO recordings on iLearn.

The lectures are designed to introduce fundamental concepts in probability, statistics, and econometrics, as well as to explain the methods used to analyze and interpret data. Students are expected to read the relevant material before each lecture.

Tutorials focus primarily on numerical problems, allowing students to practice and understand the methods taught in the lectures. The tutorials also include empirical applications that require the use of Gretl/Excel.

RECOMMENDED TEXT (Useful but not required texts include)

Keller, Gerald (2014) statistics for Management and Economics (10 ed), Cebgage Learning

Hill, C. H., Griffiths, W. E. and Lim, G. C. (2011) Principles of Econometrics (4th ed.) Wiley -- Available online through our library: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/lib/MQU/ detail.action?docID=4806586

Gujarati, N. G. and Porter, D. C. (2009) Essentials of Econometrics, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill

Stock, J. H. and Watson, M. W. (2014) Introduction to Econometrics, 3rd Edition, Pearson

Wooldridge, Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (7th ed)

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS

1. Gretl (http://gretl.sourceforge.net/)  The software may be freely downloaded. The Microsoft Windows version is available at http://gretl.sourceforge.net/win32/, and the Mac version is available at http://gretl.sourceforge.net/osx.html. 

2. Microsoft Excel  You can find more information on the following link how to use MS Excel off campus. https://wiki.mq.edu.au/display/microsoftstu/About;jsessionid=E26834FF0E276C3384E93466EE687514 

EMAIL USE

It is University policy that the University issued email account will be used for official University communication. All students are required to access their University account frequently. Only contact Macquarie University staff (including tutors), using your official MQ student’s account because this is one method used to verify your identity.

Unit Schedule

Week 1: Introduction & Descriptive statistics

Week 2: Descriptive Statistics

Week 3: Probability & Random variables

Week 4: Probability Distributions

Week 5: Sampling Distributions

Week 6: Class Test

Week 7: Hypothesis Testing

Week 8: Regression Analysis

Mid-session break

Week 9: Multiple Linear Regression

Week 10: Class test 2

Week 11: Multiple Linear Regression

Week 12: Regression Diagnostics

Week 13: Review  

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.05 of the Handbook