MACR: Macroeconomics (Updated August 1998)

Exploring the Macroeconomy: An instructional module, using SPSS, the US national income and product accounts, and additional data from the Departments of Labor and Commerce, by James Gerber, Department of Economics, San Diego State University.

 

This module is designed to fill the gap between an introductory statistics course and either principles of macroeconomics or intermediate macroeconomics. The goal is to bring empirical analysis into macro theory courses and to bring macro examples into statistics courses.

Chapter 1 covers introductory material that is found in most principles of economics texts, including the national income and product accounts and the circular flow of demand and income. Chapter 2 briefly highlights the development of macroeconomic thought since Keynes. These chapters are designed to provide background material, especially for statistics students who may not have taken principles of economics.

The remainder of the module (Chapters 3-7) provides a series of guided exercises with annual U.S. data, 1929-1996. These exercises begin with the simple graphing of variables and descriptive statistics, and then move through most of the topics found in the statistical inference component of a first course in economic statistics. These exercises begin at a level that is accessible to students without a first course in statistics and become progressively more sophisticated. The module ends with several examples of regression analysis.

Suggested Citation:
Gerber, James. 1997, Exploring the Macroeconomy: An instructional module, using SPSS, the US national income and product accounts, and additional data from the Departments of Labor and Commerce. Unpublished Manuscript.

Last Modified 15 August 1998