Enhancing the use of international data by students of economics Dean Garratt and Stephen Heasell Nottingham Business School 6 th September 2011

Deans perspective Adopt Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Embed concepts, theories and techniques in empirical context Use of problems, issues, themes to engage students with economics Role to play as part of student retention, including crucial level 1 Develop a sense of economics for a purpose Helps unite curriculum

Deans perspective Use economic data to enhance deep learning Historical comparisons International comparisons Inductive and deductive Raise levels of curiosity Develop research skills

Deans perspective Develop skills associated with data extraction, interpretation and analysis Databases National Statistics, AMECO, IMF, OECD Spreadsheet skills Data manipulation, descriptive stats, charts

Deans perspective Develop other skills associated with being a professional economist Skills in briefing and constructing purposeful narratives Apply concepts and ideas to different scenarios or situations

Steves perspective Learn about methods used by economists Applicability of theoretical ideas & methods embedded in professional pronouncements Present information as a production function Appeal to interests in & beyond academia Clear exposition of comparative complexity

Instrumental & dumbing down? Yes to the first, if we do it right Emphatically no to the second, at least not intentionally.

3 main messages Use empirical data to retain & deepen engagement with methods of economics Use student curiosity & ambition to understand their complex economic environment Towards a coherent blend of learning materials

From Comparative complexity to clear exposition Use publicly-available empirical data to: Engage student curiosity about comparisons Demonstrate layers of complexity in interpreting data about the economic environment Lead students towards making reliable comparative statements

Ideas addressed in the Case Studies Economic concepts & theory embedded in data Interpret data, using economic theory Use quantitative methods for economic insight: Nominal and real measures Stock measures and flow measures Measures of value & monetary measures of volume

And more ideas… Specific data-related issues: eg Choice of data Seasonally-adjusted/cyclically-adjusted Reliability & timeliness Use of proxies Use of plural sources together Risk of misleading over-interpretation

Complexity of comparisons Complexity of comparisons Levels, growth rates & differing growth rates Rates of change, trends & volatility Ratios, percentages & proportions Frequency of data Longitudinal comparisons, differing data sets

Evidence from an EN funded project Case studies: structure and content For advanced Level 1 HE students of economics From classroom to case study: successes and limitations

Case Study structure Data Use Data Search and Selection Data Transformation and Interpretation Review Questions Summative Assessment task 6 dual-column pages; tables; charts; few equations; short sentences & paragraphs

Case Study topics Working with Data on… Economic Growth House Prices Household Debt Consumption Spending Government Finances

Empirically-led LT for Economics Empirically-informed LT: in using economic concepts in producing economic data in presenting data for decision makers