Despite all our efforts to simplify the world, we are confronted with a complex reality that is in constant flux.  As Heraclitus might say, we can never step in the same overdetermined river twice.  How, in this context, can we make good decisions?

The purpose of statistics is to provide us with tools for drawing inferences about the complex world we inhabit based on data about the past such that we can make better decisions in the future.  Statistics is not, by any stretch of imagination, the road to Truth.  Rather, statistics is a way to use logical deduction to improve the odds that our decisions will have successful outcomes.

In Economics 220 we learn how to use the tools of statistics to draw conclusions that can guide decision-making.  These tools are commonly used by many economists and, therefore, are essential aspects of the knowledge of any economics major.  We will learn to use and understand descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis.  Most of the statistical techniques presented in the course may be applied using manual calculations.  However, it is recommended that students use Microsoft Excel and/or Minitab for calculating statistical variables.  Note that it is the responsibility of the student to familiarize herself with these software packages, although detailed instructions are available in the primary course textbook. 

By the end of the course, each student should have a good working knowledge of the basic tools used in statistical work, which tools are appropriate to specific problems, and be able to move forward with applying these tools in economics.  For those students who want to construct a senior thesis that makes use of statistics, a second course in econometrics is recommended.