examining country level data across 63 countries
Word Limit: Max. 1500 words excluding appendices, figures and tables.
Weight: 20% of overall final grade.
Details:
This is an INDIVIDUAL Assignment and while we discourage plagiarism, it is not collusion if
you discuss the questions with other students but submit your own original work. Note that
we may request you come in and explain your assignment in person if we feel your
assignment is too similar to another students’ work.
In this assignment, you will be examining country level data across 63 countries chosen at
random. In particular, we are interested in the determinants of a country’s economic
wellbeing. You will not need a working knowledge of macro-economics for this assignment
but it doesn’t hurt. The assignment will mainly involve quantitatively analysing the data and
you may also need to do some research on some questions through your textbook or other
online resources.
Data:
The data along with data definitions are provided in the file MAE356_t2_2014_Assign.XLSX
which is provided via Cloud Deakin. Where possible, data has been sourced from the World
Bank Database (data.worldbank.org) for the year 2011.
Submission Details:
Once completed, you will need to submit the your ‘Microsoft Word’ document via Cloud
Deakin. You must submit a single file only and do not need to fill out an assignment
attachment sheet but should contain a cover page with your name and student ID.
Please do not submit it as a PDF as we will be doing a word count. Any tables, figures and
appendices will not be included in the word count so use them wisely.
We will not be marking your Excel work file so you must ensure the Word document is selfcontained (i.e. all your tables and figures should be in the
word document). You will not
need to submit a hardcopy.
Part 1: Descriptive Statistics and Hypothesis Testing.
a) Using Excel, compute and present the descriptive statistics for petrol prices. Based
off your results, calculate the 95% confidence interval and explain it.
b) Using Excel, compute and present the descriptive statistics for the average life
expectancy of a country’s population. Given that this is only a sample of 63 countries
in the world and using a 1% level of significance, test the null hypothesis that the
average life expectancy of the entire world is more than or equal to 65 versus the
alternative that it is less than 65.
[2 + 3 = 5 Marks]
Part 2: Simple Linear Regression Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
a) Run the following simple linear regression function on the number of scientific and
technical journal articles and tertiary enrolment rates. Present your regression table
along with the interpretation of the intercept and slope coefficients. Additionally,
conduct a hypothesis test to see if tertiary enrolment rate has no effect on journal
article publications versus it having a positive effect. Show all steps for the
hypothesis test and use .
b) Run the following simple linear regression function on GDP per Capita and life
expectancy. Present your regression table along with the interpretation of the
intercept and slope coefficients. Additionally, conduct a hypothesis test to see if
having 5 extra year of life expectancy could increase GDP per capita by more than
$20,000. Show all steps for the hypothesis test and use .
[3 + 3 = 6 Marks]
Part 3: Multiple Regression Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
a) Estimate the following multiple regression and present your results . Carefully
interpret the estimated intercept and slope coefficients along with the R-sq.
coefficient.
b) Based on the multiple regression results you had in Part 3a, test the joint
significance of the variables INFLATION, ARTICLE and POP on GDP. Show your
steps/calculation and use .
[5 + 4 = 9 Marks]
END OF ASSIGNMENT
