Download Economic Concepts for Statisticians

Higher Level Module H4
Module H4: Economic Concepts for Statisticians
Objectives
This module will provide students with a basic understanding of economic concepts that form
part of the body of knowledge that decision makers use when interpreting national statistics. It
must be acknowledged that the purpose of the whole training programme is to improve
statistical capacity and therefore its main focus is statistics. However, in order to understand
and use some of the statistics produced by the National Statistical Systems, a statistician should
be familiar with the economic concepts that are discussed in this module.
Expected Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to understand the context in which
many national statistics are used for decision making. They will be familiar enough with key
economic concepts to participate in meetings and multidisciplinary discussions from an informed
position.
Pre-requisites
None
Contents
Session 1. Basic definitions and concepts

What is economics?

What do economists study? What areas does economics deal with?

Supply, demand and market forces

Goods, money and foreign exchange markets

The concept of elasticity (especially income elasticity and price elasticity)

Market failure
Basic Course in Statistics for SADC
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Higher Level Module H4
Session 2. The national income accounts

Output – nominal versus real and the concept of value added

GDP: definition

GDP versus GNI

Different measures of GDP

International comparisons – exchange rates, purchasing power parity
Session 3. Growth and development

Sectors of the economy (including comparisons between countries)

The production function

Traditional growth models and ‘catching up’

Does growth imply development?
Sessions 4. Endogenous growth and human development

Productivity

Human capital

Endogenous growth

The East Asian ‘miracle’

Drivers of growth

Sustainable development
Session 5. Economic cycles

Consumer and investor behaviour

Business cycles

Technology (and other long-wave) cycles

Poverty traps and low-level equilibria in developing countries
Basic Course in Statistics for SADC
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Higher Level Module H4
Session 6. Inflation

What economists mean by prices

The causes of inflation

What impact does inflation have on people and on the economy?

Controlling inflation (monetary policy)

Should we aim for zero inflation?
Session 7. Labour markets

The importance of employment

Labour force and employment indicators

Developed-country models of labour markets

Labour markets in developing economies
Session 8. The role of government

Why governments are needed – the economics argument

Government accounts

Taxation

Fiscal policy
Session 9. Government financing and debt

Private borrowing

The justification for fiscal deficits

Government financing (internal and external)

External debt definitions and indicators

Debt relief initiatives
Basic Course in Statistics for SADC
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Higher Level Module H4
Session 10. Trade, capital flows and the international financial institutions

Trade

Balance of payments

International capital flows

The role of the IMF (and the World Bank)
Basic Course in Statistics for SADC
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