Additional resources
Additional resources
Learn how to consult the online databases of major international economic organizations to extract information that can help you interpret the economic and financial landscape and understand certain historical and current events.
Course description
The course aims to provide participants with practical tools for consulting the main economic databases and for using the software R, with the aim of acquiring a real ability to read and interpret macroeconomic scenarios.
The first part of the course will introduce the main economic databases available online on the national and international institutions websites: FRED, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, EUROSTAT, ECB, Yahoo Finance.
The second part of the course will focus on showing how to download data and create graphs for interpreting historical events with the aid of case studies. Specifically, the open-source software R will be used to show practical examples of the full process, from connecting into databases to generating the required graphs for understanding the case studies.
Total workload of the course: 25 hours
This course was translated from "Interrogare i dati economici" and human-reviewed by an ita-eng translator and the professor of the course.
This MOOC was produced as part of the Edvance project – Digital Education Hub per la Cultura Digitale Avanzata. The project is funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Component 1, Investment 3.4 “Didattica e competenze universitarie avanzate".
Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, the students of this course will be able to:
- Identify the most relevant sources of macroeconomic data and independently extract data for economic scenario analysis
- Use the open-source software R to access, process and visualise macroeconomic data
- Analyse historical events using data and graphs
- Examine and critically discuss current affairs by selecting appropriate sources and data and by carrying out the necessary analyses
Prerequisites
Have a basic understanding of macroeconomic variables such as: GDP, inflation, interest rates, employment and unemployment, wages, exchange rates, and the trade balance.
Activities
This course has:
- Video lectures
- Individual and interactive activities
- Quizzes
- Self-study materials
Assessment
Your final grade for the course will be based on the results of your answers to the assessed quizzes. You have an unlimited number of attempts at each quiz, but you must wait 15 minutes before you can try again. You will have successfully completed the course if you score 60% (or higher) in each one of the assessed quizzes. The maximum score possible for each quiz is given at the beginning of the quiz. You can view your score in the quiz on your last attempt or on the 'Grades' page.
Certificate
You can achieve a certificate in the form of an Open Badge for this course, if you reach at least 60% of the total score in each one of the assessed quizzes and fill in the final survey.
Once you have completed the required tasks, you will be able to access ‘Get the Open Badge’ and start issuing the badge. Instructions on how to access the badge will be sent to your e-mail address.
The Badge does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
Information about fees and access to materials
The course is delivered in online mode and is available free of charge.
Course faculty
Francesco Menoncin
Teacher
Francesco Menoncin is a full professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Economics and Management of the University of Brescia, where he teaches in the master's degree program “Finance and Risk Management.” He has also taught courses for doctoral and master's programs at the universities of Pisa, Genoa, Milan, and at the EM-Lyon business school in France.
His research work focuses on market finance, with particular reference to the study of the optimal portfolio for both financial and actuarial risk management. In particular, he has published numerous articles on the financial management of pension funds to address longevity risk. Another research interest concerns the analysis and description of the phenomenon of tax evasion, with the use of dynamic optimization models.
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the courses or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.