EC2303

FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMETRICS

Description
This is an introductory statistics course for economists. No prior background in statistics is needed
as the course is intended to provide a rigorous statistical foundation for students who intend to study
econometrics. The module begins with ways of summarizing economic data, including the use of
frequency distributions and measures of central tendency and dispersion. This is followed by an
initiation into the concepts of classical probability, paving the way for the important topics of random
variables and probability distributions. Next, the core ideas of classical statistical inference are
introduced – including sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing and
analysis of variance. Finally, correlation and regression analyses will be covered.

Syllabus

Probability foundations
- Random variables (discrete/continuous)
- Functions of random variables
- Probability distributions (marginal/joint distributions, conditional/unconditional distributions)
- Expectation, variance, and covariance
- Independence

Sampling distributions and estimation/inference

- Description of data
- Law of large numbers
- Central limit theorem
- Estimation methods
- Hypothesis testing
- Linear regression

Assessment

Deadlines (if you are unable to

provide the exact date, you may
Component Weightage Format
indicate according to weeks, e.g. due
in week 13)
Weekly throughout the semester
CA1 48% Problem sets
starting from Week 3

Participation 12% Tutorial participation Throughout the semester

Final exam 40% Analytical questions Centrally determined by NUS

Conducted face- Lectures: online

to-face or online Tutorials: face-to-face
Preclusions
Nil

Workload
2-1-0-4-3

Workload Components : A-B-C-D-E

A: no. of lecture hours per week
B: no. of tutorial hours per week
C: no. of lab hours per week
D: no. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork etc per week
E: no. of hours for preparatory work by a student per week

Readings
(a) Compulsory reading:
(b) Supplementary reading:
Textbook is NOT required for this module.
Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists, 9th edition
By Walpole, Myers, Myers and Ye
Introduction to Econometrics, Global edition, 4th edition
By Stock and Watson