UNC-Wilmington
Department of Economics and Finance
ECN 377
Dr. Chris Dumas
ECN 377—SECTION 001
Introduction to Econometrics and Data Analysis
Syllabus Fall 2015
Course Website: http://www.csb.uncw.edu/people/dumasc/classes/ecn377/
Instructor: Dr. Chris Dumas
Office: Cameron Hall, Rm. 220-H
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 9:00am—11am,
Phone: 910-962-4026
Email: dumasc@uncw.edu
12pm—2pm; other times by appt.
Course Days/Time/Location: Tues/Thurs, 2:00-3:15pm, CIS Building 1003
Course Description and Learning Objectives: Introduction to applied estimation, testing and interpretation of
economic models useful for business and policy decision-making. Emphasis on model formulation, data
acquisition and manipulation, model estimation, and hypothesis testing using spreadsheets and statistical software
tools such as SAS in a desktop computing environment. Extensive practice in interpretation of results for business
and policy audiences.
Prerequisites: ECN221, ECN 222 and QMM 280 required.
Textbook: There is no required textbook for this course. We will use lecture notes and handouts provided in
class and on the course website.
Class Attendance Policy: Attendance is required. This course is difficult, and material is covered very quickly.
Work or vacation is not considered a valid excuse for missing class. Please plan your semester accordingly. If
you miss class, you are responsible for getting the material from other students. One point is deducted from the
final course average for each class missed. Students have a responsibility to report all planned, university excused
absences by Friday, September 4th so that arrangements can be made to schedule dates for missed assignments
and tests. Circumstances warranting a planned, excused absence include athletic department-approved absences,
university related trips, and religious observations. . The instructor reserves the right to give a grade of zero
when students do not exercise this responsibility.
Homework: There will be several required homework assignments. Homework may include multiple choice
questions, short answer questions, and analytical problems that may require graphing, algebra, basic calculus and
the use of spreadsheet and SAS computer software. Homework will be collected on the due date at the
BEGINNING of class. Do not work on homework in class. Late homework will not be accepted
and will receive a grade of zero. Homework solutions will be provided after homework is
collected.
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UNC-Wilmington
Department of Economics and Finance
ECN 377
Dr. Chris Dumas
Midterm Exams: There will be three midterm exams. Each exam will be based on the material presented in
lecture, in class handouts, the homework assignments, and the computer assignments. Exams may include
multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and analytical problems requiring graphing, algebra and
calculus. Students are responsible for being present at all exams. The only valid excuses are: a note from doctor
documenting serious student illness, documented death in the immediate family, a letter from UNCW Disability
Services documenting a valid reason for alternative exam arrangements on file with Dr. Dumas, or an official
UNCW athletic competition form (for student athletes only) on file with Dr. Dumas. Students should have two
alarm clocks, one electric and one either manual or battery-powered, to avoid missing an exam. Work or
vacation is not considered a valid excuse for missing an exam. Please plan your semester accordingly.
Final Exam: December 10, 3:00pm-6:00pm, CIS Building 1003. There will be a required, in-class final
exam. The final exam may contain multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and/or problems that
require graphing, algebra, calculus and knowledge of spreadsheet and SAS computer software. The final exam
will be cumulative (it will cover everything in the course), but some extra weight will be put on the new material
covered after Midterm Exam 3. Work or vacation is not considered a valid excuse for missing an exam.
Please plan accordingly. All students must take the final exam on the assigned day and at the assigned time.
YOU MAY NOT TAKE THE FINAL EXAM ON A DIFFERENT DAY OR AT A DIFFERENT
TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Extra Credit Policy: No additional work can be done for extra credit.
Policy on Academic Honesty: As a student at UNCW, you are pledged to uphold and support the UNCW
Student Academic Honor Code. Guidelines in support of the Honor Code, including definitions of cheating and
plagiarism, may be found at: http://uncw.edu/odos/documents/Honor_Code_12-13.pdf
Grading Policy:
Homework
Midterm Exams (3)
Final Exam
20%
20% each
20%
The Course Average is the weighted average of the attendance, homework, midterm exam, final exam, and
research paper grades using the percentage weights above. The Course (letter) Grade is based on the Course
Average as shown in the table below:
Course Average Course Grade
Course Average Course Grade
93%+
A
73%-76%
C
90%-92%
A-
70%-72%
C-
87%-89%
B+
67%-69%
D+
83%-86%
B
63%-66%
D
80%-82%
B-
60%-62%
D-
77%-79%
C+
less than 60%
F
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UNC-Wilmington
Department of Economics and Finance
ECN 377
Dr. Chris Dumas
ECN 377 Course Schedule: The following daily course schedule is tentative and subject to revision as we
proceed through the semester.
Date Exams and Lecture Topics
8-20 Syllabus, Intro to Econometrics, TealWare, SAS software, Microsoft Office 365 and Excel 2013
File Types, Variables Types, Data Types
8-25
Note: August 26 is last day to drop (without a grade) or add a class.
8-27 Tables, Frequency Distributions, Histograms, Descriptive Statistics
9-1 Hypothesis Tests for Two Means: Z-tests, standard error, t-tests & Central Limit Theorem
9-3 Hypothesis Tests for Two Means: Z-tests, standard error, t-tests & Central Limit Theorem
9-8 Confidence Intervals, Sampling, and Sample Size
9-10 EXAM 1
9-15 Hypothesis Tests for Variances: χ2-tests and F-tests
9-17 Hypothesis Tests for Proportions Data
9-22 Hypothesis Tests for Categorical Data: Crosstabulation/Contingency Tables & Chi-square Tests
9-24 Plots, Correlation, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression
9-29 Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression and the Gauss-Markov theorem
10-1 EXAM 2
10-6 Multiple Least Squares Regression
Note: October 7 is last day to withdraw from class with "W" grade.
10-8
10-13
10-15
10-20
10-22
10-27
10-29
11-3
11-5
11-10
11-12
11-17
11-19
11-24
11-26
12-1
12-3
12-10
Multiple Least Squares Regression
HOLIDAY (No class)
Functional Forms
Dummy Variables
Model Selection Issues
Multiple Regression Examples
Multiple Regression Examples
EXAM 3
Multicollinearity
Heteroskedasticity
Simultaneous Equations/Endogenous Variables Models: IV and 2SLS Regression
Limited Dependent Variable Models: Probit Regression
Autocorrelation
Time Series Models
HOLIDAY (No class)
Time Series Models
READING DAY (No class)
FINAL EXAM 3:00pm-6:00pm, CIS Building 1003
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