ASSESSMENT EXEMPLAR WITH GUIDE FOR INSTRUCTORS:
STATISTICAL TESTING
Topic:
☐Microeconomics
☐Macroeconomics
☒Statistics/Econometrics
Level:
☐Bachelors
☐Masters
☒Both/Either
Core concepts:
Statistical testing; regression; economic
modelling (including forecasting) for
business purposes
Learning domains:
☒Knowledge
☒Application
☒Data analysis
☒Communication
☒Reflection
Type(s) of task (can be more than one)
☒Constructed response given stimulus material
(clip/narrative/etc.)
☐Constructed response with no stimulus material
☒Quantitative analysis
☒Independent data sourcing
☐Independent research (not data sourcing)
☒Written presentation
☒Oral presentation
☒Group collaboration
☒Use of nominated maths/stats software (specify): Excel
☐Use of other technology (specify):
☐Other (specify):
________________________________________
This assessment tests students’ ability to perform an evaluation of economic conditions and past
performance for use in business decision-making. Students must plan an approach to a client’s
question relating to store locations, using region-specific data on local economic conditions and
past store performance to construct performance forecasts. Students are explicitly asked about
limitations and ethical dilemmas that may be faced during the course of the analysis and the
communication of results.
The callouts to the learning standards assessed by different components of the items appear in
square brackets within the items, and should be removed before the items are used.
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Bachelors level task:
You are hired to help an Australian jewellery retailer, OzGlam, set up a suite of four franchise
operations in India. While the decision to enter the Indian market has been made already by the
retailer’s top management, the exact locations for the franchises have not yet been determined.
You are provided, for each of 10 candidate neighbourhoods in one province, with monthly data on
the following variables extending back for ten years: total existing retail square footage for
incumbent jewellery retail stores in the neighbourhood; value (in rupees) of aggregate jewellery
sales by incumbent jewellery stores in the neighbourhood; prevailing interest rates in the province;
neighbourhood population; average local wage rates (in U.S. dollar equivalents, calculated with
regard to purchasing power parity); and local unemployment rates. Your job is to provide advice
to the retailer regarding the best neighbourhood to choose as the location for a franchise in this
province.
Describe in detail [CB1] the analytical steps you would implement, using the data provided, to
tackle this question. Be sure to explain why each step you suggest would be useful [KB1]. In
particular, your response should address the following:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Any data manipulations and/or statistical tests you would perform before proceeding to
modelling [DB1];
Any non-parametric analyses you would perform before proceeding to modelling [DB1];
An outline of the types of model(s) you might consider running [DB1];
The limitations of the data and your analyses [RB1];
What the results of your analyses would imply for the retailer’s question of interest
[DB2,AB2]; and
What ethical problems might arise once the results of your analysis are known, and how
you as an economist might suggest resolving them [RB1,RB3].
Obviously you do not know the results of any preliminary analyses. However, your answer should
include as much detail as possible about the sorts of patterns or relationships that you are
expecting or looking for in your preliminary analysis, and what sorts of models you might run as a
result of identifying different patterns or relationships in the data.
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Masters level task:
PART A
You are hired to help an Australian jewellery retailer, OzGlam, set up a suite of four franchise
operations in India. While the decision to enter the Indian market has been made already by the
retailer’s top management, the exact locations for the franchises have not yet been determined.
You are provided, for each of 10 candidate neighbourhoods in one province, with monthly data on
the following variables extending back for ten years: total existing retail square footage for
incumbent jewellery retail stores in the neighbourhood; value (in rupees) of aggregate jewellery
sales by incumbent jewellery stores in the neighbourhood; prevailing interest rates in the province;
neighbourhood population; average local wage rates (in U.S. dollar equivalents, calculated with
regard to purchasing power parity); and local unemployment rates. Your job is to provide advice
to the retailer regarding the best neighbourhood to choose as the location for a franchise in this
province.
Describe in detail [CM1] the analytical steps you would implement, using the data provided, to
tackle this question [AM3]. Be sure to explain why each step you suggest would be useful [KM1].
In particular, your response should address the following:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Any data manipulations and/or statistical tests you would perform before proceeding to
modelling [DM1];
Any non-parametric analyses you would perform before proceeding to modelling [DM1];
An outline of the types of model(s) you might consider running [DM1];
The limitations of the data and your analyses [RM1];
What the results of your analyses would imply for the retailer’s question of interest
[AM2,DM2]; and
What ethical problems might arise once the results of your analysis are known, and how
you as an economist might suggest resolving them [RM1,RM3].
Obviously you do not know the results of any preliminary analyses. However, your answer should
include as much detail as possible about the sorts of patterns or relationships that you are
expecting or looking for in your preliminary analysis, and what sorts of models you might run as a
result of identifying different patterns or relationships in the data.
PART B
Use the plan that you outlined in Part A above as a guide in analysing the data provided in {Excel
sheet} [KM1,AM3,DM1,DM2]. Once you have performed your analysis, write up the results in a
report to be provided to OzGlam’s CEO [AM2,CM1].
PART C
Using Parts A and B as a guide, source historical data on economic conditions and retailer
performance in a sales category of your choice across different cities of Australia [DM1]. Suppose
you are contracted by a company from India in this sales category that would like to enter the
Australia market. Analyse the data you have found in accordance with your plan in Part A, and
write up a report designed to help the company decide on Australian store locations for
consumption by that company’s CEO [KM1,AM2,AM3,DM2,CM1].
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Advice to assessors
The type of communication used to express the answers to this item can be written, which is the
default, but could also be oral, where students could present their results to one another or to the
“CEO” (role-played by a student or the teacher) of the relevant company. This item is an excellent
choice for assessing students’ ability to work in teams: the research plan, the analysis, and/or the
presentation can be performed in small groups rather than individually, with the possibility of peer
feedback used to assess team member performance.
Masters students may be given reading material about the retail industry in Australia and/or India
(e.g., from trade magazines) to draw upon when crafting their reports.
The question frame can be used as a graft for other questions that query students’ skills in evaluating
data on business performance and economic conditions for purposes of business decision-making –
for example, for decisions about where to start the roll out new products within existing stores, or
which store locations to close down if a business is losing money.
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Learning
domain
Learning outcomes
Bachelor Degree
Masters Degree
Knowledge
KB1 Bachelor graduates will be able to
identify, coherently explain and synthesise
core economic concepts
KM1 Masters graduates will be able to
identify, coherently explain and synthesise
core and advanced economic concepts,
including recent developments in the
discipline
Application
Bachelor graduates will be able to:
Masters graduates will be able to:
AB1• frame problems in terms of core
economic concepts and principles
AM1• frame and critically analyse problems in
terms of core and advanced economic
concepts and principles
AB2• apply economic reasoning and
analytical skills, in order to make informed
judgments and decisions
AM2• apply advanced economic reasoning
and analytical skills, including quantitative
techniques where appropriate, in order to
make informed judgments and decisions
AM3• plan and execute a research-based
project
Data analysis
Bachelor graduates will be:
Masters graduates will be able to:
DB1• able to use economic data to address
typical problems faced by economists
DM1• select and apply an appropriate
empirical method to address typical problems
faced by economists
DB2• aware of, and able to implement,
basic empirical techniques and interpret the
results
DM2• critically evaluate the results
Communication CB1 Bachelor graduates will be able to
present a clear and coherent exposition of
economic knowledge, ideas and empirical
evidence both orally and in writing,
individually or in collaborative contexts
CM1 Masters graduates will be able to
communicate complex ideas clearly and
coherently, in written form and interactive oral
form to expert and non-expert audiences,
individually or in collaborative contexts
Reflection
Bachelor graduates will be able to reflect
on:
Masters graduates will be able to reflect on
and evaluate:
RB1• the nature and implications of
assumptions and value judgments in
economic analysis and policy
RM1• the nature and implications of
assumptions and value judgments in
economic analysis and policy
RB2• interactions between economic
thinking and economic events, both
historical and contemporary
RM2• interactions between economic thinking
and economic events, both historical and
contemporary
RB3• the responsibilities of economists and
their role in society
RM3• the responsibilities of economists and
their role in society
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