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所在平台: Coursera |
课程主页: https://www.coursera.org/learn/global-statistics
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课程名称：《全球统计：国际比较的综合指数》 课程概述： 在国际上，综合指数的构建和应用数量正迅速增加。但在量化技术复杂性显著提高的同时，相关教育和培训却相对滞后。因此，这些旨在综合复杂问题的简单数据，常常被呈现给公众并用于政治辩论中，而缺乏对其内在局限性和正确解释的强调。在由日内瓦大学与ETH Zürich KOF联合提供的这门全球统计课程中，您将学习构建综合指数的一般方法及其相关问题。我们将讨论技术特性、内部结构（如聚合、权重、时间序列稳定性）、主要数据的使用和变量选择方法。这些概念将通过一些最流行的综合指数进行说明。我们不仅会探讨统计问题，还将专注于政策、媒体和范式驱动指标之间的区别。 课程大纲： 1. 欢迎模块： - 介绍参与课程的教授，讲解综合指数的合理性及其重要性。 - 本模块适合非政府组织成员、政治家、记者、学生及所有对理解、创建或解释综合指数感兴趣的人士。 2. 一些介绍性问题： - 首先对综合指数的定义、数学符号及其发展历史进行介绍。探讨综合指数的需求与建设框架，讨论其内在质量的优劣，并概述构建综合指数的步骤。 3. 构建综合指数的步骤： - 介绍构建综合指数的关键步骤，包括变量选择、数据问题、转换函数和权重选择等，以及如何评估最终综合指数的稳健性。 4. 全球化与青年劳动市场指数（ETH Zurich/KOF）： - 学习青年劳动市场指数和KOF全球化指数的构建和应用，帮助理解全球各国的青年劳动市场情况及全球化的程度。 5. 出口潜力评估（ITC）： - 关注国际贸易中心开发的贸易指数，包括出口潜力指数和产品多样化指数，帮助贸易顾问识别最有潜力的产品和市场。 6. liners 航运连通性指数（UNCTAD）和人类发展指数（UNDP）： - 探索由UNCTAD计算的航运连通性指数及UNDP的人类发展指数，了解其构建方法，并讨论各自的局限性与未来改进方向。 通过本课程，您将全面了解综合指数的构建过程及其在国际比较中的重要性，以及如何正确解读和应用这些指数。
Name:Welcome module
Description:Welcome to the first module of this course. In this welcome module, you will be introduced with the Professors that will take part in this course on composites indices. We explain the rationale for composite indices (CIs) and show how they can be of interest. This course is open to NGO members, politicians, journalists, students and all persons interested in understanding, creating and/or interpreting CIs. By the end of this first module, you will have an overview of the content of the course week by week.
Name:Some introductory issues
Description:This module contains four lessons. The first lesson is an introduction to CIs. It defines what a CI is, introduces their mathematical notation and reviews some core historical aspects of their development, the need and use of CIs. The second lesson focuses on the demand for CIs while the third lesson develops a qualitative framework for the construction of CIs. More specifically, the intrinsic quality of CIs is discussed by reviewing their pros and cons. Finally, the last lesson of this introductory module sketches the steps involved in the construction of a CI. Learning outcomes: by the end of this module you will have a clear idea what a CI is (definition, ingredients, history, objective), know why it is needed and where it is used (needs and demand), be familiar with the quality requirements and have a first idea steps involved in the construction of a CI.
Name:The steps of constructing a composite index
Description:This module is organized along four lessons. The objective of this module is to familiarize you with the key steps to undertake when constructing a CI. The first lesson will develop a theoretical framework to support CIs’ construction. Notably, it will cover topics such as variables selection and data issues. The second lesson will introduce a unifying approach to construct CI by discussing aspects related to transformation functions and the elasticity of substitution. The entire third lesson will be devoted to an essential aspect in the construction of a CI: the choice of weights. Finally, the module will conclude by addressing questions arising after the construction of a CI. For instance, lesson four will discuss how to assess the robustness of the resulting CI. By the end of this module you will be familiar with all the most important technical (or say statistical) steps involved in constructing CIs.
Name:Globalization and Youth labour market indices (ETH Zurich/KOF)
Description:In this module, you will discover two popular indices developed by ETH Zurich: the Young Labour Market Index and the KOF Globalization index. In the first lesson of this week, you will learn more about the Youth Labour Market Index (YLMI). The KOF YLMI captures various aspects of the youth labour market situation of countries across the world. You will learn which indicators are included in the KOF YLMI and how these are aggregated into a single index. Furthermore, you will get to know an online tool that invites you to analyse the youth labour market situation yourself. In the second lesson of this module, you will learn about the KOF Globalization Index which is a widely used composite indicator that measures the degree of globalization for every country in the world since 1970. It distinguishes between three dimensions of globalization: Economic, social and political globalization. In the following module, you will learn why it is important to measure globalization and what the different stages in constructing the KOF Globalization Index are. A critical discussion of the Index sums up the module.
Name:Export Potential Assessment (ITC)
Description:This module focuses on trade indices developed by the International Trade Centre, the Export Potential Index (EDI) and the Product Diversification index (PDI). Frictions often create a gap between what a country could export and what it does export to markets around the world. Trade advisers could better address these frictions and help firms realize greater exports if they knew exactly which products and markets offer best chances. During this week, you will learn about the Export Potential Assessment (EPI and PDI), which indicates products, sectors and markets for trade development activities for over 200 countries and 4,000 products. Based upon an assessment of the exporting country’s supply capacity, the target market’s demand and tariff conditions as well as the bilateral links between the exporting country and the target market, it provides a ranking of untapped opportunities.
Name:Liner shipping connectivity indices (UNCTAD) and Human development index (UNDP)
Description:During this week you will be exploring two indices. The first index, the Liner Shipping (Bilateral) Connectivity Index (LSCI/LSBCI) computed each year by UNCTAD since 2004. It provides an overall indicator of a country maritime connectivity related to liner shipping. Throughout this lesson, we give some insights on why the LSCI and LSBCI were developed. We also cover the methodology to build both indices. We then discuss some stylized facts. The second index presented this week is the Human Development Index (HDI) developed by UNDP. During this lesson, you will be slightly introduced with the history of the HDI. We explain the steps of constructing the HDI, i.e. choosing the three dimensions (health, education and living conditions) composing the HDI and their respective indicators, normalizing the indicators and aggregating the indicators and dimensional sub-indices using different methods. Then, we use a practical example to calculate the HDI for one country. At the end, we discuss some limitations of the HDI and give some elements for future improvement.
The number of composite indices that are constructed and used internationally is growing very fast; but whilst the complexity of quantitative techniques has increased dramatically, the education and training in this area has been dragging and lagging behind. As a consequence, these simple numbers, expected to synthesize quite complex issues, are often presented to the public and used in the political debate without proper emphasis on their intrinsic limitations and correct interpretations. In this course on global statistics, offered by the University of Geneva jointly with the ETH Zürich KOF, you will learn the general approach of constructing composite indices and some of resulting problems. We will discuss the technical properties, the internal structure (like aggregation, weighting, stability of time series), the primary data used and the variable selection methods. These concepts will be illustrated using a sample of the most popular composite indices. We will try to address not only statistical questions but also focus on the distinction between policy-, media- and paradigm-driven indicators.
