teaching economic realities versus perceptions using surveys and sas® steven c. myers department of...
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Teaching “Economic Realities versus Perceptions”
using Surveys and SAS®
Steven C. MyersDepartment of EconomicsThe University of Akron
23rd Annual Teaching Economics Conference on instruction and Classroom Based Research
Robert Morris UniversityFebruary 16-18, 2012
Objectives of using Surveys and SAS
• Turn students on to the mechanics of applied economic research
• Course Setting is a first course after principles
• Give them experience in using computers in research
• SAS® is highly marketable• Active learning.• Team building and individual aspects• Writing up results professionally
Course Based Research Skills
Synthesis of economic knowledge and intuition with data collection methods in a field survey and the analysis of that data using a major statistical tool
• Course: Computer Skills for Economic Analysis• Part of a major revision of UA curriculum
Students learn to learn about economics on their own• Students develop a research hypothesis in a team setting• Students are exposed to writing up research results usually for the first time.
The Hansen ProficienciesW. Lee Hansen (2001)
• Graduates can access existing economic knowledge• Graduate demonstrate a command of existing economic knowledge
• Graduates are able to interpret existing economic knowledge• Graduates are able to interpret and manipulate economic data
• Graduates can apply existing economic knowledge• Graduates are able to create new knowledge
Myers, Steven C., Michael Nelson, and Richard Stratton. (2009) "Assessing an Economics Program: Hansen Proficiencies, EPortfolio, and Student Research" International Review of Economics Education. 8 (1), June, pp 87-105.
What are Perceptions versus realities?
– Caplan, Brian. (2001) "What Makes People Think Like Economists? Evidence on Economic Cognition from the “Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy”." Journal Of Law & Economics 44 (2).
– Caplan, Brian. (2006) “How do voters form positive economic beliefs? Evidence from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy.” Public Choice, Vol. 128, Issue: 3-4, September.
– Kaiser Family Foundation. (1996) Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy, Oct. 1996, accessed December 31, 2011 at http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/1199-econgen.cfm
Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy
Perceptions versus realities
Source Kaiser Family Foundation (1996)
1. When you think of today’s economy (Oct 1996) do you think it is …Growing rapidly
Growing slowly Stagnating In a
recessionIn a
depressionNo opinion
General Public
18 42 20 10 7 3
Economists 12 80 2 0 0 6
Peter Kennedy, A Guide to Econometrics (2008)
The curriculum revision added a senior project and required Econometrics and the Computer Skills course.
Three Pillars of Applied Econometrics• Problem articulation• Data cleaning• Model specification
Applies to Applied Economics as well
Applies to beginning researchers as well.
Questions for the classroom research
• How do economic student majors differ from the public in how they respond to economic questions and in their opinions on various economic issues?
• Do that part of the public that have had a college level economics course answer more like economic students or more like the rest of the public?
• How are economic realities different than perceptions? • Do these findings change over time? • How can answering these questions lead students to
understand economics more and to make them a better undergraduate researcher on the next project?
Process of research
1. Create Survey based on research questions
2. Administer the Survey3. Collect the data4. Record the data5. Clean and Merge the data6. Use SAS® to explore and display the
data7. Report the results in a professional
way8. Share the results9. Experience Feedback
The Deliverables
1. Student submits Excel with only their individual answers
2. Student submits Excel with their 30 surveys3. Student team submits a 2-3 page document
of something interesting using at least 1 professionally done two-way table.
4. Teams formed, team based research paper on Perceptions versus Realities
Create Survey in class, year 3
• Continuity with past surveys– New questions– Verifiable answers
• What is the unemployment rate?
– Predicted economic outcomes• How is the economy now? next year?
– Policy Opinions• Do you believe that free trade is beneficial?
– Attach a SAS legal variable name to each question• Answer codes in a,b,c, format• Character vs. numeric data
Provide each student with the one sheet questionnaire
– Front and back– Print and give to them, or– email the pdf image– Prepare a copy without the SAS variable names for passing to interviewees
Questionnaires and codebook atMyers, Steven C (2011) "Annual Survey Project, 2009-2011, Perceptions versus Realities," Survey forms and relative frequency distributions, Course in Computer Skills for Economic Analysis, Department of Economics, The University of Akron accessed at http://GoZips.UAkron.edu/~myers/scholarship
Each student conducts personal interviews in the field
– At least 30 surveys– Discussion of random selection
• Reality of this survey design is for pedagogy and not inquiry• Strong pitch to get as much diversity as possible in the selection of those to interview– Do not give to frat buddies or just stand in the hall after a freshman class
gets out.– Diversity should include those who have taken economics and those who
have not.– Diversity should include those who are working full time and out of
school.
• 20-30 students and 30 interviews each give a large enough sample for analysis and also helps the representativeness of the sample
Network space is assigned to each student on a shared disk drive
–Network drive is designated as the E:\ drive– In a common directory (e.g., E:\E226\
Survey) are the tools, e.g., interview forms and the Excel spreadsheet• Security for students is read only• The Excel spreadsheet is used for the submission of the interview data (more on this below)• The Spreadsheet follows a required naming convention (more below)
Network space is assigned to each student on a shared disk drive
In subdirectories (e.g., E:\E226\Survey\Student1) each student is given his own space in which to upload or write the completed Excel spreadsheet
– Security: students may write to this directory, but not modify its contents• This guarantees integrity of the data• The submission is date and time stamped for deadline compliance
– If students desire to upload a corrected file they must save with a different name and email the TA or professor.• Only the TA or professor has full access. • Upon being notified that file2.xls is to replace file1.xls, the professor can rename the new file to the required name of the file.
Students’ use Excel to record the data
Naming conventions– Two tabs exist with SAS variable names from the Survey Form across the top row ready for data entry
– One tab is the student’s own responses– One tab is for recording the 30 interviews– Data naming consistency will allow SAS to remotely read and merge all survey results in one
Students use PROC IMPORT to read the Excel spreadsheet data into SAS
• In their first writing assignment they are to provide something of interest in a tabular form from the responses of their survey.
– The goal is that every student is successful with importing SAS, coding the responses and producing a table, and interpreting the evidence.
– PROC FREQ and PROC TABULATE are the primary procedures used, but PROC MEANS may also play a role if the variables are quantified.
• Every step of the way, the students are required to write professionally and in the style of the eventual senior project.
The Professor, using SAS, imports all of the students’ Spreadsheets and combines then into one SAS database.
• Key Variables– Class– UAnetID– Year
• Three years of data available so far.• A common resource data book is created
Students are now formed into teams to conduct a research study using the data from all three years.
– Research questions– Tabular analysis required– Student with econometrics encouraged to do more.– Write professionally text and tables.– Teams present their research for peer grading and questioning.
– The class undertakes an evaluation and discusses what might make a better research study.
– Constant reminders of their Senior Project.
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
Mean error -0.4 0.0 0.4 2.34 2.65 4.94
Std 0.5 0.1 1.47 10.8 7.6 14.3
n 16 17 22 449 467 415Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
Mean error
0.7 1.6 4.6 3.5 3.7 5.2
Std 6.0 5.9 15.57 13.5 8.9 13.2
n 205 239 182 241 228 233
Who knows the actual unemployment rate?
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
Growing or slowly
growing56 76 91 34 40 41
No growth 13 12 5 18 23 24declining 31 12 5 48 37 35
Econ Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
Growing or slowly
growing31 42 43 35 38 39
No growth 24 17 28 13 30 21
declining 45 41 29 51 32 39
How is the economy doing now?
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
56 54 22 27Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
21 26 22 26
Percentage believing Economists are Generally Right
Class > Econ-Public = No-Econ-Public
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
75 71 59 47 40 38Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
60 46 41 32 35 35
Percentage Disagreeing that Capitalism has failed.
Class > Econ-Public > No-Econ-Public
Class 2011 Public 2011
Too Much 14 27
Too little 27 50Econ Public
2011No Econ Public
2011
Too Much 30 25
Too little 48 52
Government redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor is …
Too much? Class < No-Econ-Public < Econ-PublicToo little? Class < Econ-Public <= No-Econ-Public
LEFT RIGHT TOTALToo Much 16 45 26
Just right 15 27 23
Too little 69 28 23
n126
(28.6%)122
(27.7%)440
Government redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor is …
(based on your political leaning, 2011 only)
Class 2009 Public 2009
Government responsible 62.5 44.8
Individuals responsible 37.5 55.2
Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2009
Government responsible
40.7 47.9
Individuals responsible
59.3 52.1
Which comes closer to your view about the provision of health insurance?
Govt? Class > No-Econ-Public > Econ-Public
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
50 53 32 38 45 35Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
43 49 35 33 40 35
Percentage believing Government Provided Health Insurance is “bad”
2009 & 2010 Class > Econ-Public > No-Econ-PublicBut 2011 Class < Econ-Public = No-Econ-Public
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
100 94 82 Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
82 72 74 75 69 75
Percentage believing increased use of technology in the work place is “good”
Class > Econ-Public >= No-Econ-Public
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
81 100 86 Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
71 57 60 56 50 50
Percentage believing free trade between countries is “good”
Class > Econ-Public >= No-Econ-Public
Class 2009
Class 2010
Class 2011
Public 2009
Public 2010
Public 2011
87 82 68 Econ
Public 2009
Econ Public 2010
Econ Public 2011
No Econ Public 2009
No Econ Public 2010
No Econ Public 2011
61 65 61 60 60 53
Percentage believing a federal tax cut “helps the economy”
2009 & 2010 Class > Econ-Public = No-Econ-PublicThen 2011 Class > Econ-Public > No-Econ-Public
Lessons learned
– Students need a lot of support for research – This is a fun and engaging way to get them interested in research
–More work needed on design and formatting of tables
– Need more time on the research design– No students seized on the differences between those who took economics and those who did not.
– A success as first research, but the evidence of the papers leave much room for improvement.
Teaching “Economic Realities versus Perceptions”
using Surveys and SAS®
Steven C. MyersDepartment of EconomicsThe University of Akron
[email protected]://GoZips.UAkron.edu/~myers/scholarship