Economics 499
Dr. Reed Olsen
Spring 1999
Assignment 1

This assignment is designed to familiarize you with economic data. You are to write a brief, 2 or 3 page, report that contains the elements listed below. The report must be typed (printed on a dot matrix printer is fine as long as it is easily readable.)

  1. Pick a topic. Clearly identify the topic that you are interested in exploring. Be as specific as possible. Explain the topic in a few sentences or paragraphs.

  2. Find at least 2 sources that contain data relating to the topic that you chose above. One of the sources should be from the web and the other from a non-web source. Clearly identify the source of the data (for the web source you may be able to give a print publication as well – this is common for government data found on the web.) You should give a full reference for the data source. An example would be a reference to the U.S. Statistical Abstract:

    United States Department of Commerce, United States Bureau of the Census. 1990.     Statistical Abstract of the United States 1990. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

    Government documents will have a suggested citation style in the document. Other documents should follow the general framework given above – Author, year of publication, title of publication, place of publication, publisher.

  3. Pick two data series, one from each source, to discuss and present. Is the data cross-sectional or time series? What is the unit of observation (i.e., an individual, a state, a nation, etc.) and what is the time period? You must find data with at least 25 observations (single data points are neither interesting nor useful). Pick two data series that are related and compatible (i.e., the unit of observation is the same). Briefly discuss each of the data series, including any methods used to transform the raw data into the form ultimately reported.

  4. Who is interested in this data series? List at least two groups who might be interested and briefly explain why.

  5. Attach a table of the two data series at the end of the report. The table should clearly identify some common components, including (1) the unit of observation, (2) sources for each of the data series, and (3) clear titles for each series. See the two attached tables for examples of both time series and cross-sectional data.

The Assignment is due in class, Wednesday, January 20th.

 

 

U.S. Unemployment Rates and Per Capita Disposable Income1959-1998
Year

U.S. Civilian
Unemployment Rates
(June of each year)

U.S. Per Capita Personal
Disposable Income
(DOLLARS)

1959

5.0

1,975

1960

5.4

2,013

1961

6.9

2,066

1962

5.5

2,156

1963

5.6

2,229

1964

5.2

2,389

1965

4.6

2,546

1966

3.8

2,720

1967

3.9

2,882

1968

3.7

3,101

1969

3.5

3,302

1970

4.9

3,550

1971

5.9

3,811

1972

5.7

4,082

1973

4.9

4,562

1974

5.4

4,941

1975

8.8

5,383

1976

7.6

5,856

1977

7.2

6,383

1978

5.9

7,123

1979

5.7

7,888

1980

7.6

8,697

1981

7.5

9,601

1982

9.6

10,145

1983

10.1

10,803

1984

7.2

11,929

1985

7.4

12,629

1986

7.2

13,289

1987

6.2

13,896

1988

5.4

14,905

1989

5.3

15,790

1990

5.2

16,721

1991

6.9

17,242

1992

7.8

18,113

1993

7.0

18,706

1994

6.1

19,381

1995

5.6

20,349

1996

5.3

21,117

1997

5.0

21,976

1998

4.5

NA
Source: Unemployment Rate - Bureau of Labor Statistics (URL: http://stats.bls.gov/cpsatabs.htm); Per Capita Personal Income - 1998 Economic Report of the President, Table B31.





State Level Cigarette Consumption and Death Rates in 1988

State/Jurisdiction

Age Adjusted
Death Rate

Per Capita Cigarette Consumption

ALABAMA

899.13

107.79

ALASKA

719.61

102.37

ARIZONA

735.37

98.81

ARKANSAS

875.34

131.06

CALIFORNIA

795.11

88.87

COLORADO

741.67

97.82

CONNETICUT

769.92

102.49

DELAWARE

848.47

137.46

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

1151.62

104.59

FLORIDA

767.09

115.13

GEORGIA

886.04

120.07

HAWAII

587.13

66.54

IDAHO

768.89

91.60

ILLINOIS

857.00

109.72

INDIANA

854.77

136.55

IOWA

801.46

104.83

KANSAS

810.96

100.95

KENTUCKY

903.26

134.42

LOUISIANA

899.22

108.86

MAINE

848.93

120.65

MARYLAND

854.84

108.14

MASSACHUSSETTS

830.82

108.35

MICHIGAN

853.65

124.76

MINNESOTA

766.83

70.95

MISSISSIPPI

917.03

114.83

MISSOURI

855.57

125.94

MONTANA

781.92

94.12

NEBRASKA

806.00

91.90

NEVADA

829.28

65.52

NEW HAMPSHIRE

811.75

172.20

NEW JERSEY

843.63

106.51

NEW MEXICO

744.31

84.15

NEW YORK

882.37

106.40

NORTH CAROLINA

855.09

125.12

NORTH DAKOTA

758.94

94.06

OHIO

850.47

117.86

OKLAHOMA

850.35

115.93

OREGON

796.62

94.97

PENNSYLVANIA

851.83

107.33

RHODE ISLAND

806.56

133.73

SOUTH CAROLINA

878.34

128.14

SOUTH DAKOTA

794.00

88.92

TENNESSEE

873.35

132.60

TEXAS

814.30

101.07

UTAH

718.05

55.73

VERMONT

817.67

131.13

VIRGINIA

822.20

113.12

WASHINGTON

769.68

90.17

WEST VIRGINIA

901.56

109.95

WISCONSIN

795.40

101.79

WYOMING

826.91

108.72
Sources: Cigarette Consumption calculated from State Government Tax Collections (1988). Age Adjusted Death Rate calculated from Vital Statistics of the U.S. (1988)

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