Writing an Empirical Research Report, and
Sources of Economic Data
Prepared by Vera Tabakova, East Carolina University
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17.1 Selecting a Topic for an Economics Project
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17.2 A Format for Writing a Research Report
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17.3 Sources of Economic Data
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-2
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Select an area of interest and identify a problem you wish to work on.
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Find suitable and readily available data.
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Learn the econometric procedures that are appropriate for analyzing
the data, and implement them on the computer.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-3

Select an area of interest and identify a problem you wish to work on.

Find suitable and readily available data.

Learn the econometric procedures that are appropriate for analyzing
the data, and implement them on the computer.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-4
The abstract should be short, usually no more than 500 words, and
should include:
1.
a concise statement of the problem;
2.
comments on the information that is available with one or two key
references;
3.
a description of the research design that includes:
the economic model,
ii. the econometric estimation and inference methods,
iii. data sources,
iv. estimation, hypothesis testing and prediction procedures; and
i.
4.
the potential contribution of the research.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-5
1.
Statement of the Problem The place to start your report is with a
summary of the questions you wish to investigate, why they are
important and who should be interested in the results. This
introductory section should be non-technical and it should motivate
the reader to continue reading the paper. It is also useful to map out
the contents of the following sections of the report.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-6
2.
Review of the Literature Briefly summarize the relevant literature in
the research area you have chosen and clarify how your work
extends our knowledge. By all means cite the works of others who
have motivated your research, but keep it brief. You do not have to
survey everything that has been written on the topic.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-7
3.
The Economic Model Specify the economic model that you used,
and define the economic variables. State the model’s assumptions
and identify hypotheses that you wish to test. Economic models can
get complicated. Your task is to explain the model clearly, but as
briefly and simply as possible. Don’t use unnecessary technical
jargon. Use simple terms instead of complicated ones when possible.
Your objective is to display the quality of your thinking, not the
extent of your vocabulary.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-8
4.
The Econometric Model Discuss the econometric model that
corresponds to the economic model. Make sure you include a
discussion of the variables in the model, the functional form, the
error assumptions and any other assumptions that you make. Use
notation that is as simple as possible, and do not clutter the body of
the paper with long proofs or derivations. These can go into a
technical appendix.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-9
5.
The Data Describe the data you used, the source of the data and any
reservations you have about their appropriateness.
6.
The Estimation and Inference Procedures Describe the estimation
methods you used and why they were chosen. Explain hypothesis
testing procedures and their usage.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-10
7.
The Empirical Results and Conclusions Report the parameter
estimates, their interpretation and the values of test statistics.
Comment on their statistical significance, their relation to previous
estimates and their economic implications.
8.
Possible Extensions and Limitations of the Study Your research will
raise questions about the economic model, data and estimation
techniques. What future research is suggested by your findings and
how might you go about it?
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-11
9.
Acknowledgments It is appropriate to recognize those who have
commented on and contributed to your research. This may include
your instructor, a librarian who helped you find data, a fellow
student who read and commented on your paper.
10.
References An alphabetical list of the literature you cite in your
study, as well as references to the data sources you used.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-12
17.3.1 Links to Economic Data on the Internet
Resources for Economists (RFE) [http://www.rfe.org]
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US Macro and Regional Data Here you will find links to various data sources
such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Economic Reports of the President, and the Federal Reserve Banks.
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Other US Data Here you will find links to the US Census Bureau, as well as
links to many panel and survey data sources. The gateway to US Government
agencies is FedStats [http://www.fedstats.gov/].
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-13
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World and Non-US Data Here there are links to world data, such as the CIA
Factbook, and the Penn World Tables. International organizations such as the
Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank,
etc.
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Finance and Financial Markets Here there are links to sources of US and
world financial data on variables such as exchange rates, interest rates and
share prices.
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Journal Data and Program Archives Some economic journals post data used
in articles.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-14
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Business and Economics Datalinks
[http://www.econ-datalinks.org/] is a site maintained by the Business
and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical
Association. It provides links to economics and financial data sources
of interest to economists and business statisticians, along with an
assessment of the quality of each site.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-15
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Resources for Econometricians: A link which contains a range of
resources for econometricians is Econometrics Journal online. The
specific link to data sources is:
http://www.feweb.vu.nl/econometriclinks/#data
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Economagic [http://www.Economagic.com/] is an excellent and
easy-to-use source of macro time series (some 100,000 series
available). The data series are easily viewed in a copy and paste
format, or graphed.
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-16
Data web sites are constantly being created. Some recent examples
include:
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Time-Web: http://www.bized.ac.uk/timeweb/
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Statistical Resources on the Web:
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html
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Business, Financial and Economic Data:
http://www.forecasts.org/data/
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-17
17.3.1 Traditional Sources of Economic Data
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International Financial Statistics (IMF, monthly)
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Basic Statistics of the Community (OECD, annual)
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Consumer Price Indices in the European Community (OECD, annual)
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World Statistics (UN, annual)
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Yearbook of National Accounts Statistics (UN, annual)
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FAO Trade Yearbook (annual).
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-18
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Survey of Current Business (BEA, monthly)
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Handbook of Basic Economic Statistics (BES, monthly)
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Monthly Labor Review (BLS, monthly)
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Federal Reserve Bulletin (FR, monthly)
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Statistical Abstract of the US (BC, annual)
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Economic Report of the President (annual)
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Agricultural Statistics (USDA, annual)
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Agricultural Situation Reports (USDA, monthly)
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Economic Indicators (Council of Economic Advisors, monthly).
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-19
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A useful resource:
A Guide to Everyday Economic Statistics, 6th Edition [Gary E.
Clayton and Martin Gerhard Giesbrecht (2003) Boston:
Irwin/McGraw-Hill].
Principles of Econometrics, 3rd Edition
Slide 17-20