UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND LEGAL STUDIES
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
2022/2023 ACADEMIC YEAR – FIRST SEMESTER
ECO 303: INTERMEDIATE STATISTICS I
Course Coordinator: Raymond Elikplim Kofinti (PhD)
Email: rkofinti@ucc.edu.gh
Office: DF1, Old Administration Block, 1st floor.
Booking of appointment is strictly by email!!!
Prerequisite Course(s): Must have completed and passed ECO 207
Main Text(s):
1. Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., Williams, T. A., Camm, J. D., & Cochran, J. J. (2016).
Statistics for business & economics. Nelson Education
Supplementary Reading Materials
2. Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D. J., & Williams, T. A. (2014). Modern business statistics with
Microsoft Excel. Nelson Education.
3. Healey, J. F. (2014). Statistics: A tool for social research. Cengage Learning.
4. Keller, G. (2015). Statistics for Management and Economics, Abbreviated. Cengage Learning.
5. Lind D., Marchal W., & Wathen S. (2018) Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics. 17th
Edition. McGraw-Hill.
6. McClave, J. T., Benson, P. G., Sincich, T., & Sincich, T. (2014). Statistics for business and
economics. Boston: Pearson.
7. Newbold, P., Carlson, W. L., & Thorne, B. (2013). Statistics for business and economics. Boston,
MA: Pearson.
8. Weiss, N. A., & Weiss, C. A. (2017). Introductory statistics. Pearson
Course Description
This course provides students in economics with a conceptual introduction to the field of statistics and its
varied applications. Applications of data analysis and statistical methodology are an integral part of variety
of disciplines including economics. It covers issues such as probability distribution, normal distribution and
their practical orientation intended to prepare students adequately for advanced courses such as
Econometrics and Advanced Economic Theory. The topics are presented in an application setting, with
the statistical results providing insights to decisions and solutions to problems. Hence, students will find
that this course provides good preparation for the study of more advanced statistical courses. It will further
aid students to acquire an appreciation of the logic of descriptive and inferential statistics, and an
understanding of which techniques are best suited to which kinds of data or research questions.
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Course Objectives
The aims of this course are to:
 introduce students to intermediate concepts in statistics;
 equip students to analyse to analyse economic issues, solve economic problems and make
statistical inferences
 further deepen the interest of students in the field of statistics
Course Content
1. Overview of Statistics
1.1.
The Nature of Statistics
1.2.
The Role of Statistics
1.3.
Types and Presentation of Data
2. Introduction to Probability
2.1.
The Meaning of Probability
2.2.
Basic Rules of Probability
2.3.
Bayes’ Theorem
2.4.
Counting Principles and Techniques (Permutations and Combinations)
3. Discrete Random Variables and Probability Distributions
3.1.
Random Variables
3.2.
Probability Distribution of Discrete Random Variables
3.3.
The Uniform Distribution
3.4.
The Binomial Distribution
3.5.
The Multinomial Distribution
3.6.
The Poisson Distribution
3.7.
Summary measures of Probability Distribution
3.8.
The Expected Value of a Random Variable
3.9.
Variance of a Random Variable
3.10. The Expected Value of Sums of Random Variables
3.11. Joint Probability Distributions
4. Normal Distribution
4.1.
Characteristics of the Normal Distribution
4.2.
The Standard Normal Distribution
4.3.
The Importance of the Z-score
4.4.
The Normal Approximation to the Binomial
5. Introduction to SPSS/Excel/Stata/R (Practical)
Teaching and Learning Strategies
 case studies
 discussion method
 group and individual work
 problem-Solving
 face-to-face lectures and expositions
 online lectures
 computer-based practical
Assessment
A combination of formative and summative assessments including group tasks, quizzes, assignments,
discussions, and examination will be used.
Assessment weighting
End-of-semester examination:
60%
Assignment (Individual or group project)/presentations 10%
2
Quiz 1
15%
Quiz 2
15%
You will be graded as follows:
A=80-100%; B+=75-79%; B =70-74%; C+ =65-69%; C= 60-64%; D+ =55-59%; D= 50-54%; E< 50 (Fail).
Course Policy
Attendance: 100% attendance is required. Attendance to all sessions is compulsory. By the University
regulations, you must support any absenteeism by the appropriate report.
Code of conduct: You should be punctual at all sessions and conduct yourself at same in a professional
manner. You must also switch your phone to silent mode.
Cheating/Plagiarism: Cheating and plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will attract the
appropriate sanctions as stipulated in the students’ handbook.
Assignment submission: All work should be submitted by the deadline. Students will not be permitted to
write make-up quizzes or hand in assignments late, except for documented medical or compassionate
reasons. Failure to take a quiz or assignment without express permission will lead to the award of a mark
of zero.
Referencing: Use APA style in your essays/project write-up as stipulated in the University’s theses and
dissertation guide.
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