AS.440.601.58.FA24 Microeconomic Theory
Your Signature Assignment will consist of a presentation of the analysis of a data set due week 8 class and will count for 13 percent of your final grade. In-class presentations will be conducted during weeks 9 and 14.
The data set should have at least 100 data points and 3 independent variables. Good data sources are the data archives of various universities, government agencies, international financial institutions, etc. In all cases the source of the data must be provided. In preparing for your PowerPoint presentation, you are expected to do outside research or reading. However, the analysis should not replicate an existing published analysis. The empirical analysis should be done in MS Excel.
Below is a suggested outline of your presentation:
1. The topic of your presentation
2. Importance of this topic
3. Key questions/issues you plan to address
4. Sources of information/data
The presentation should be at least 10-12 slides total in length that describes the data, the question(s) the analysis has addressed and answered, the methods, and results. This can include regression equations, tables of regression coefficients, and selected graphs. The key is selection: this material should support your answers, not be a historical description of how you got to the final model(s). One guide is to visualize writing a concise memo to your general manager/CEO explaining what you found in enough detail to support your results and give her/him confidence that you have covered potential problems.
In the appendix you may describe in more detail what you did. This should include any transformations made to the variables and why, construction of indicators or new variables, if any. The objective is to give more information on how you approached the data and how you structured your analysis.