Synopses & Reviews
The success of today?s economics students depends on their ability to apply economic analysis in the classroom, in career settings, or in graduate school. That requires a determined effort to develop four proficiencies, or skills, which have broad application: 1) To access published materials and data, from both traditional sources and the internet; 2) To identify and discuss relevant economic concepts when viewing a publication and to interpret the meaning of data and evaluate its usefulness in a given application; 3) To demonstrate command of existing knowledge by writing a short report or delivering a brief presentation; 4) To apply existing knowledge to explore an issue of particular interest in order to conduct original research and to interpret the research of others. The Economist?s Handbook develops these four proficiencies by providing common-sense explanations, relevant examples, and focused assignments for each proficiency. At the core of the text is a step-by-step approach to writing so that students will understand exactly what is required to complete the current assignment or develop the desired research skills. In addition, The Economist?s Handbook provides an extensive glossary of economic terms, information about economics as a career, and other reference materials useful to the economist in training.
Synopsis
This text is written for senior undergraduate and first-year graduate students. It systematically develops the skills and proficiencies students need to practice economics after graduation. These skills range from locating and interpreting economic data to writing reports to conducting larger-scale economic studies. Appendices provide supporting material and information about the economics discipline. Can be used as a main text or as a supplement in upper division courses.
About the Author
Tom Wyrick is a professor of economics at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on public sector economics and monetary economics. He is a recent recipient of a university teaching award at SMSU. Wyrick is the author of The Economist's Handbook, a text on performing economic research, and has also published articles in economics, law, and political science journals and performed numerous studies of local and regional economic activity. Wyrick frequently consults as an economic expert in legal cases, and earlier in his career authored a newspaper column and served on the advisory council of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the supervisory board of a local credit union. His current research interest is economic activity in ancient times.
Table of Contents
Proficiency 1. The Ability to Gain Access to Existing Knowledge. 1. Locating Economic Data. 2. Transforming Economic Data. 3. Locating Published Research. Proficiency 2. The Ability to Demonstrate Command of Existing Knowledge. 4. Writing Methods and Practices. 5. Presenting an Oral Report. 6. Writing a Short Descriptive Report. 7. Writing a Summary Report. 8. Summarizing a Policy Debate. Proficiency 3. The Ability to Identify and Discuss Economic Concepts in Published Materials. 9. The Economic Content of News Stories. 10. The Economic Content of Published Research. Proficiency 4. The Ability to Use Existing Knowledge to Explore an Issue. 11. Theory in Economic Research. 12. Empirical Methods in Economic Research. 13. Reporting the Results of Economic Research.