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Econ1193 – Business Statistics 1, Semester 2, 2022

Assessment #2: Individual case study (40%)

Due: Week 9, August 22nd, Monday, 23:59

Assessment Details

In Canvas, there are Excel files with data sets for three topics. Your lecturer will assign the
topic and a data set to you. You will be required to work with only ONE assigned topic and
pick up the relevant data set from the corresponding Excel file.

 Your report should not exceed 3000 words (the word count includes words in tables and
figures) (references, title page and table of contents are excluded).
 Provide all your answers to a maximum of 3 decimal places.
 It is compulsory to specify the word count on the cover page.
 There is a penalty of 2 marks for each 100 words exceeded.
 The report should be written and submitted in Microsoft Word only; no PDF submission
is accepted.
 There is a penalty of 10% of the grade received for every screenshot provided in the
report. Make sure you are not providing pictures/screenshots to avoid this penalty.
 The font used should be Times New Roman 12pt. Include page numbers in either the
footer or the header.
 Avoid plagiarism as RMIT treats it very strictly.

Submission Details
Submit the following TWO items to Canvas:
1. Word file (via Turnitin)
2. Excel file (The Excel file will NOT be marked). Copy all relevant figures/tables into the
Word file.

ECON1193 – Assessment #2 (Individual Case Study), Semester 2, 2022 Page 1 of 3

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Case study topic:

Both too high or too low birth rates may have serious social and economic consequences in the
medium and long run. Policy makers pay close attention to the national birth rates. Therefore, it
is important to study the factors that affect the birth rate.

The data for this assignment is downloaded from the World Bank. Your data set consists of 2020
data of several countries for the following two variables:
 Crude birth rate (per 1000 population)
 GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)

There are 6 parts in this case study:

Part 1: Introduction

Provide an introduction of the research topic, based on reliable references.

 Use reliable references (i.e., scientific research articles, the World Health Organization,
the United Nations, UNICEF or any other reliable institution/source). Make sure that you
cite your sources properly.
 Your introduction should include the following
o A description of the crude birth rate.
o An explanation of why it is important to monitor the birth rate.
o A review of the relationship between the crude birth rate and GNI per capita.
o A description of other factors of the birth rate.

Recommended word limit: 500 words

Part 2: Descriptive Statistics and Probability

Define “High birth rate” as a crude birth rate per 1000 population above 17.5.

Divide your countries into the following three categories:

o Low GNI per capita countries (LI): countries with GNI per capita less than US$4,000.
o Middle GNI per capita countries (MI): countries with GNI per capita between US$4,000
and US$15,000.
o High GNI per capita countries (HI): countries with GNI per capita more than US$15,000.

Based on the information,

 Check whether the crude birth rate and GNI per capita are statistically independent
events, and which country categories are more likely to have a high prevalence of
overweight in children.
 Analyze the descriptive measures for the crude birth rate by using the best descriptive
measures and compare the different country GNI per capita categories mentioned above
(LI/MI/HI).
 Indicate the reasons behind choosing the particular measures in your discussion and
ECON1193 – Assessment #2 (Individual Case Study), Semester 2, 2022 Page 2 of 3
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explain all your findings.

Part 3: Confidence Intervals

a. Obtain the confidence interval for the world average of the crude birth rate.

b. Discuss whether and why any assumptions are required or not to calculate these confidence
intervals. If any assumption is needed, state the assumption.

Part 4: Hypothesis Testing

a. A previous study indicates that the world average crude birth rate in 2015 was 19. Based on
your confidence interval obtained in Part 3a, test a hypothesis about the world average crude
birth rate in 2020. You should also discuss the possible error committed, its consequence and
how this error can be minimized.

b. Suppose the number of countries in your dataset increased by 50%. Discuss the possible
impact on the hypothesis testing results (Note: The answer should not be supported by
any calculation, but should display conceptual understanding)
 Discuss whether the statistical decision will change or remain unchanged.
 Explain why it will change or remain unchanged.
 Discuss whether the results will be more accurate, less accurate or the same, and
comment also on any changes on the possible errors committed.

Part 5: Overall Conclusion

Provide an overall conclusion on at least 3 main findings of your case study’s topic, supported
with your findings from Part 1 to Part 4. As you write the conclusion, keep in mind that the
audience is not an expert in Statistics and write the conclusions using a non-technical language.
Recommended word limit: 500 words

Part 6: Extension
As your data set does not include Vietnam, you decided to collect some data at the household
level about the birth rate as well as some sociodemographic and economic characteristics of the
households in Vietnam. For this purpose, a survey of a representative sample of Vietnamese
households is needed. Briefly describe how you would conduct the survey, what type of sample
you would use and why, the possible errors you may face while conducting the survey and how
you could reduce/eliminate such errors. (Note: You do not need to prepare the actual survey
questions)
Recommended word limit: 500 words

End of Assessment

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