stats in essays

[relativity1]

When should you use stats in an economics essay? Just to backup arguments or to introduce an idea? Also should you put as many as possible or seldom use

[conic curve]

Yes, they are neccessary, especially when you are doing case studies and need evidence to back up your argument

[Essej]

When should you use stats in an economics essay? Just to backup arguments or to introduce an idea? Also should you put as many as possible or seldom use

Hi Relativity!

In an economics essay (say you have 3 paragraphs for a question like "Outline the impacts of Australia's persistent CAD on economic performance") you want to include around 2-3 stats per paragraph to attain high bands. Stats and diagrams e.g. AS/AD graphs are outlined in the marking criteria within most essays so are ESSENTIAL to show a higher level of content understanding.

In terms of when to use them, like in most HSIE subjects your examples should be used to support your argument rather than form the basis of it. For example, your topic sentence may be "Australia is a developed OECD nation that prides itself on sustainable economic growth and development." but then your next sentence would back this up through saying "This is evidenced by Australia's GDP per capita of $62,000 PPP in 2015 and its HDI of 0.935.

You essentially don't want to stat drop just for the sake of it unless you absolutely have to, as generally they drive your thesis statement/topic sentence. Try going back through your essays and looking at each stat, asking yourself "does this further my argument in some way?" - especially useful for those pesky "outline the recent trends in..." questions!!

Hope this helps 

[brontem]

Also, to jump in with a sub-par answer
Knowing the ones like economic objectives (inflation target etc), the current cash rate and Aus' HDI are always good to throw in in case you don't have that many to use (or any at all) .
As long as they're relevant of course haha

[Adriaclya]

Yep. Stats are pretty much always needed in the essay to not only show depth in your research but also shows evidence to your argument. However, majority of your marks would come from your argument proposed and your explanation of your stats; how it relates to your argument. So bottom line, you could still get relatively decent marks with solid and valid arguments + explanations and limited stats. But generally, the higher marks will skillfully incorporate stats!

[jamonwindeyer]

Also, to jump in with a sub-par answer

There are never sub-par answers. You guys are awesome!! Without an economics lecturer we rely on you all to help each other out, you are all just showing the ATAR Notes spirit to a tee, great to see 

[birdwing341]

When should you use stats in an economics essay? Just to backup arguments or to introduce an idea? Also should you put as many as possible or seldom use

Just to expand on Essej's top quality answer, the three types of data (not including quotes from other people) that can be used in an economics essay are stats, trends and diagrams (perhaps there are more idk).
1. Statistics are just simple pieces of information such as Australia's HDI (0.935) or the current level of inflation (1.5% headline, 2.4% underlying), they are relatively simple and easy to remember and can be dropped basically wherever you feel it can show your sophistication.
2. Trends are by far more important than statistics, because essentially trends are made up of two statistics which, when explained, add greater depth to your argument. Let me expand: Let's say we're describing the relationship between economic growth and inflation, and we say that high growth leads to high inflaiton. The best thing to use here is a trend, so we would say that growth has decreased (from 3% to 2% or something) between 2012 and 2015, and inflation has also decreased in the same period (2.5% headline and underlying). After giving the statistics, it is important to explain why this has happened, so something along the lines of a global contraction in demand has led to lesser economic growth and also a drop in domestic consumer demand could be helpful. This means you have supported your argument with an indepth example of exactly what you are trying to say - kind of like this paragraph :3
3. Diagrams Just pictures that help illustrate your argument and you can use them in the same circumstance as statistics. Be like Protection involves tariffs and subsidies and draw pictures for both and then explaining them can be very useful in an essay.

So if you don't get anything from that, remember to use stats, trends and diagrams and explain how they help your argument