79201 - Statistical Use of Online Economic Databases

Course contents

A map of official and unofficial national and international statistical sources.

Data Quality: Main Dimensions and Sources of Error

Big data from the web: Strengths and weaknesses for real-time statistical analysis of phenomena at high spatial-temporal resolution.

Measuring Complex Phenomena (Composite Indicators)

A map of composite indicators for the economy and finance: leading, coincident, and lagged indicators.

The construction of a composite indicator: Conceptual model, measures of latent variables that make up the phenomenon of interest, data quality, missing data treatment, and preliminary analysis, standardization techniques.

Statistical weighting (aggregation) techniques for elementary indicators. Statistical methods (Correlation and Regression Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis), Multi-attribute models (Analytic Hierarchy Processes (AHP), Conjoint Analysis), Participatory methods: (Budget Allocation, opinion surveys).

Verification of the composite indicator (uncertainty/sensitivity analysis, validity analysis, and discrimination analysis).

Case Study: The use of large public databases for the analysis and forecasting of tourism demand and supply.

The outline: Research objectives and hypotheses, choice of statistical-economic model, data collection, quality control, solving problems of integration between different sources and missing data, specification, estimation, and verification of results, conclusions.

Teaching methods

Teacher's lectures supplemented with smaller discussion sections, tutorials or laboratory sessions for testing statistical models.

For students who intend to attend the laboratory session in person, it is necessary to carry out a training session regarding safety [https://elearning-sicurezza.unibo.it/] in e-learning mode (modules 1 and 2 )

Assessment methods

The exam is written and consists of a group project on a case study (30% of the score).

A written test (70% of the score) containg both theoretical questions and exercices is madatory. For each question a score from 0 to 36 is provided. 6 points for a non-answer. The final score of the written test is obtained as the average of the scores.

During the test is not allowed any materials such as textbooks, notes, computer media.

To take the exam you must pre-register on AlmaEsami

Those who do not succeed to enroll by the due date, are required to report promptly (and in any event before the official closing of the subscription lists) the problem to the Secretary's office. The teacher shall have the right to admit to the examinations.

It will be possible to inspect the test and ask for clarification at the date of verbalization 

The verbalization can occur in the absence of the student.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Verme

See the website of Andrea Guizzardi