A comprehensive textbook on data analysis for business, applied economics and public policy that uses case studies with real-world data.

This textbook will familiarize students in economics and business, as well as practitioners, with the basic principles, techniques, and applications of applied statistics, statistical testing, and multivariate data analysis. Drawing on practical examples from the business world, it demonstrates the methods of univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analysis. The textbook covers a range of topics, from data collection and scaling to the presentation and simple univariate analysis of quantitative data, while also providing advanced analytical procedures for assessing multivariate relationships. Accordingly, it addresses all topics typically covered in university courses on statistics and advanced applied data analysis. In addition, it does not limit itself to presenting applied methods, but also discusses the related use of Excel, SPSS, and Stata.

In a world in which we are constantly surrounded by data, figures, and statistics, it is imperative to understand and to be able to use quantitative methods. Statistical models and methods are among the most important tools in economic analysis, decision-making and business planning. This textbook, “Exploratory Data Analysis in Business and Economics”, aims to familiarise students of economics and business as well as practitioners in firms with the basic principles, techniques, and applications of descriptive statistics and data analysis. Drawing on practical examples from business settings, it demonstrates the basic descriptive methods of univariate and bivariate analysis. The textbook covers a range of subject matter, from data collection and scaling to the presentation and univariate analysis of quantitative data, and also includes analytic procedures for assessing bivariate relationships. It does not confine itself to presenting descriptive statistics, but also addresses the use of computer programmes such as Excel, SPSS, and STATA, thus treating all of the topics typically covered in a university course on descriptive statistics. The German edition of this textbook is one of the “bestsellers” on the German market for literature in statistics.

This open access book covers the use of data science, including advanced machine learning, big data analytics, Semantic Web technologies, natural language processing, social media analysis, time series analysis, among others, for applications in economics and finance. In addition, it shows some successful applications of advanced data science solutions used to extract new knowledge from data in order to improve economic forecasting models. The book starts with an introduction on the use of data science technologies in economics and finance and is followed by thirteen chapters showing success stories of the application of specific data science methodologies, touching on particular topics related to novel big data sources and technologies for economic analysis (e.g. social media and news); big data models leveraging on supervised/unsupervised (deep) machine learning; natural language processing to build economic and financial indicators; and forecasting and nowcasting of economic variables through time series analysis. This book is relevant to all stakeholders involved in digital and data-intensive research in economics and finance, helping them to understand the main opportunities and challenges, become familiar with the latest methodological findings, and learn how to use and evaluate the performances of novel tools and frameworks. It primarily targets data scientists and business analysts exploiting data science technologies, and it will also be a useful resource to research students in disciplines and courses related to these topics. Overall, readers will learn modern and effective data science solutions to create tangible innovations for economic and financial applications.

Introduction.Big data for twenty-first-century economic statistics: the future is now /Katharine G. Abraham, Ron S. Jarmin, Brian C. Moyer, and Matthew D. Shapiro --Toward comprehensive use of big data in economic statistics.Reengineering key national economic indicators /Gabriel Ehrlich, John Haltiwanger, Ron S. Jarmin, David Johnson, and Matthew D. Shapiro ;Big data in the US consumer price index: experiences and plans /Crystal G. Konny, Brendan K. Williams, and David M. Friedman ;Improving retail trade data products using alternative data sources /Rebecca J. Hutchinson ;From transaction data to economic statistics: constructing real-time, high-frequency, geographic measures of consumer spending /Aditya Aladangady, Shifrah Aron-Dine, Wendy Dunn, Laura Feiveson, Paul Lengermann, and Claudia Sahm ;Improving the accuracy of economic measurement with multiple data sources: the case of payroll employment data /Tomaz Cajner, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz --Uses of big data for classification.Transforming naturally occurring text data into economic statistics: the case of online job vacancy postings /Arthur Turrell, Bradley Speigner, Jyldyz Djumalieva, David Copple, and James Thurgood ;Automating response evaluation for franchising questions on the 2017 economic census /Joseph Staudt, Yifang Wei, Lisa Singh, Shawn Klimek, J. Bradford Jensen, and Andrew Baer ;Using public data to generate industrial classification codes /John Cuffe, Sudip Bhattacharjee, Ugochukwu Etudo, Justin C. Smith, Nevada Basdeo, Nathaniel Burbank, and Shawn R. Roberts --Uses of big data for sectoral measurement.Nowcasting the local economy: using Yelp data to measure economic activity /Edward L. Glaeser, Hyunjin Kim, and Michael Luca ;Unit values for import and export price indexes: a proof of concept /Don A. Fast and Susan E. Fleck ;Quantifying productivity growth in the delivery of important episodes of care within the Medicare program using insurance claims and administrative data /John A. Romley, Abe Dunn, Dana Goldman, and Neeraj Sood ;Valuing housing services in the era of big data: a user cost approach leveraging Zillow microdata /Marina Gindelsky, Jeremy G. Moulton, and Scott A. Wentland --Methodological challenges and advances.Off to the races: a comparison of machine learning and alternative data for predicting economic indicators /Jeffrey C. Chen, Abe Dunn, Kyle Hood, Alexander Driessen, and Andrea Batch ;A machine learning analysis of seasonal and cyclical sales in weekly scanner data /Rishab Guha and Serena Ng ;Estimating the benefits of new products /W. Erwin Diewert and Robert C. Feenstra.

Build a continuously learning and adapting organization that can extract increasing levels of business, customer and operational value from the amalgamation of data and advanced analytics such as AI and Machine Learning Key Features Master the Big Data Business Model Maturity Index methodology to transition to a value-driven organizational mindset Acquire implementable knowledge on digital transformation through 8 practical laws Explore the economics behind digital assets (data and analytics) that appreciate in value when constructed and deployed correctly Book Description In today's digital era, every organization has data, but just possessing enormous amounts of data is not a sufficient market discriminator. The Economics of Data, Analytics, and Digital Transformation aims to provide actionable insights into the real market discriminators, including an organization's data-fueled analytics products that inspire innovation, deliver insights, help make practical decisions, generate value, and produce mission success for the enterprise. The book begins by first building your mindset to be value-driven and introducing the Big Data Business Model Maturity Index, its maturity index phases, and how to navigate the index. You will explore value engineering, where you will learn how to identify key business initiatives, stakeholders, advanced analytics, data sources, and instrumentation strategies that are essential to data science success. The book will help you accelerate and optimize your company's operations through AI and machine learning. By the end of the book, you will have the tools and techniques to drive your organization's digital transformation. Here are a few words from Dr. Kirk Borne, Data Scientist and Executive Advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton, about the book: "Data analytics should first and foremost be about action and value. Consequently, the great value of this book is that it seeks to be actionable. It offers a dynamic progression of purpose-driven ignition points that you can act upon." What you will learn Train your organization to transition from being data-driven to being value-driven Navigate and master the big data business model maturity index Learn a methodology for determining the economic value of your data and analytics Understand how AI and machine learning can create analytics assets that appreciate in value the more that they are used Become aware of digital transformation misconceptions and pitfalls Create empowered and dynamic teams that fuel your organization's digital transformation Who this book is for This book is designed to benefit everyone from students who aspire to study the economic fundamentals behind data and digital transformation to established business leaders and professionals who want to learn how to leverage data and analytics to accelerate their business careers.

Data Science for Business and Decision Making covers both statistics and operations research while most competing textbooks focus on one or the other. As a result, the book more clearly defines the principles of business analytics for those who want to apply quantitative methods in their work. Its emphasis reflects the importance of regression, optimization and simulation for practitioners of business analytics. Each chapter uses a didactic format that is followed by exercises and answers. Freely-accessible datasets enable students and professionals to work with Excel, Stata Statistical Software®, and IBM SPSS Statistics Software®. Combines statistics and operations research modeling to teach the principles of business analytics Written for students who want to apply statistics, optimization and multivariate modeling to gain competitive advantages in business Shows how powerful software packages, such as SPSS and Stata, can create graphical and numerical outputs