This covers a series of courses I taught at University College Cork. The content relates to undergraduate statistics and econometrics, and was taught to students studying economics, finance, and commerce. Relevant materials can be made available upon request, but click the link in the title to see an overview of the course contents.

Introductory Statistics

These courses start with introductions to descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and probability. Much of this learning focuses on how these subjects relate to business practices. Students are introduced to elementary calculus, the mathematics of finance, differentiation, matrix algebra, alongside exponential, logarithmic, and polynomial functions. Students use this knowledge to calculate elasticities, solve for equilibrium, and work with series and annuities.

From there, a major emphasis is placed on the practical application of statistics to business contexts. Teaching centres around the practicalities of working with data. Students are exposed to key softwares used for analysing economic and financial data, such as excel and STATA. They are also tasked with collecting, analysing, interpreting, and presenting economic data in written reports. Supplementing this, are introductions to the numerous types of economic and financial data available, and the outlets from which these data can be acquired.

In University College Cork, I have been involved in the following courses which fit this description in different capacities:

1. EC1111 (Economic Data Collection)
2. EC1200 (Quantitative Techniques For Economics 1)
3. EC1209 (Understanding and Interpreting Data)
4. MA1100 (Introductory Mathematics For Business)

Intermediate Statistics and Econometrics

These courses build upon foundational statistics and probability knowledge by equipping students with the skills to critically evaluate economic research, data, methods, and findings. This is supplemented by introductions to hypothesis testing and statistical inference using cross-sectional and time-series methods.

From there, students are exposed to the relationships between economic theory and practice, and how different modelling techniques can be applied to different scenarios within a business context. In particular, simple linear regression, multiple linear regression, functional forms, and variable transformations are introduced while assessment emphasizes the interpretation of findings and implications of using different empirical techniques.

In University College Cork, I have been involved in the following courses which fit this description in different capacities:

1. EC1210 (Skills For Analysing Economic Data)
2. EC2015 (Research in Economics)
3. EC2116 (Introduction To Statistical Economic Analysis)
4. EC2206 (Business Econometrics and Forecasting)
5. EC4215 (Business Econometrics 1)

Excel and STATA material

Introductory Guides and Practical Materials for STATA and Excel can be made available upon request. Topics covered include:

1. Descriptive Statistics and Data Visualisation (STATA and Excel)
2. Moving Averages and Forecasting (Excel)
3. Simple and Multiple Linear Regression (STATA)
4. Variable Transformations and Functional Forms (STATA)

Recommended Readings and Literature

The official course readings differ for each course. But I find the following to be extremely useful, and engaging, for students:

1. Statistics: A Very Short Introduction by David J. Hand
2. Elementary Statistics For Geographers by James Burt, Gerald Barber, and David Rigby
3. Probability and Statistics For Economists by Bruce Hansen
4. Causal Inference: The Mixtape by Scott Cunningham
5. Econometrics By Example by Damodar Gujarati
6. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach by Jeffrey Wooldridge
7. Regression Models For Categorical Dependent Variables Using STATA by Scott Long and Jeremy Freese
8. Applied Statistics Using STATA: A Guide For The Social Sciences by Mehmet Mehmetoglu and Tor Georg Jakobson