Final Project

ECON 3050 (Quantitative Methods) – Spring 2022

Directions (Read VERY CAREFULLY)

1. The final project must be properly typed and submitted through the
designated folder

2. The final submission should include the following:

a. Main submission in a
Microsoft Word format

b. Supporting data work in an
Excel file

c. The submission will NOT be considered complete without BOTH these files.

3. Early submissions are welcome and strongly encouraged.

4.
Late submissions may not be accepted.

Final Project ECON 3050 (Quantitative Methods) – Spring 2022 Directions (Read VERY CAREFULLY) 1. The final project must be properly typed and submitted through the designated folder on eLearn. 2. The final submission should include the following: a. Main submission in a Microsoft Word format b. Supporting data work in an Excel file c. The submission will NOT be considered complete without BOTH these files. 3. Early submissions are welcome and strongly encouraged. 4. Late submissions may not be accepted. Assemble the Data 1. Collect the state average gas prices (ONLY for regular) from the website https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/ 2. Augment the AAA data by two columns of census regions available from https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf. 3. Your final data should have the following columns: a. State name b. Average price of regular gas c. Census region d. Census division Questions to be Answered 1. Find the mean, median, and 95% confidence interval of regular gas prices in each of the census regions. Nicely present your result in a tabular format 2. Perform an ANOVA to test the hypothesis that the average gas price is same across all census regions. 3. Check if the variance of regular prices is the same across all the census regions. State your conclusion in simple terms for the common audience. What assumption(s) you might have to make to support your analysis? 4. Find the mean, median, and 95% confidence interval of regular gas prices in each of the census divisions. Nicely present your result in a tabular format 5. Perform an ANOVA to test the hypothesis that the average gas price is same across all census divisions. 6. Check if the variance of regular prices is the same across all the census divisions. State your conclusion in simple terms for the common audience. What assumption(s) you might have to make to support your analysis? Extend your Analysis with Regression Models Collect 2-3 relevant independent variables at the state level that might help you explain the average gas price. You can find many state level variables by visiting https://censusreporter.org/. These independent variables should be presented as additional columns in your Excel database. (For example, income, poverty, education, median housing price, etc.) Precisely state and estimate 2-3 regression models that can explain the gas prices. In each of the cases, treat the gas price as the dependent variable. Nicely present your results in tabular forms. Write an Essay Write a summary essay (NO MORE THAN 1.5 pages) summarizing your findings about the gas prices around the country and their determinants. This essay should be written in simple terms that must be accessible to a non-technical audience. Note: For all questions, feel free to assume . However, you are allowed to choose a different value if you feel that is appropriate if you can defend your choice.