Georgetown UniversityPPOL 501PPOL501 2017 PS1 Answer Key (1)

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Problem Set 1 Answer Key Statistical Methods for Development Policy Prof. Franck Wiebe Due: September 19, 5:00 pm Please show all of your work and explain any qualitative answers for full credit. ... Remember if you choose to work with a partner you should both submit your own copy of problem set and follow the instructions for working with others as outlined in the syllabus. Be sure to turn in a neat, stapled problem set to your TA’s mailbox in the hallway just outside the Old North Student Lounge. If you worked on this problem set with another classmate, please provide their name: _______________ TOTAL POINTS: 50 1. A group of International Development policy makers wants to know how many households are food insecure in a developing country. Because the government of this country is reluctant to provide them with reliable data, this group of policy makers relies on regional data collected by independent prestigious NGOs. This is what they have collected so far: Region % Food insecure households by region Norte Grande 27% Nuevo Cuyo 26% Centro 25% Patagónica 28% Is the following statement true or false? “For the country as a whole, the percentage of food insecure household must be less than 29%.” Explain your answer using a numerical example. (2 points) In an extreme case, assume that ‘Patagónica’ has the 99.97% of the total population in the country and the rest of the regions has 0.01% each one. Hence, the percentage of food insecure households in the whole country is: food insecure=27 (0.001)+26 (0.001)+25 (0.001)+28 (0.997 )=27.994 Note that 27.994% < 29% If we decreased the share of population in ‘Patagónica’, the total percentage of food insecure households in the whole country would decrease as well: food insecure=27 (0.01)+26 (0.01)+25 (0.01)+28 (0.97 )=27.94 Note that 27.94% < 27.994% < 29% Therefore, the statement is true. However, it does not explicitly say that there are only four regions in the country. If there were more regions, then it’s possible to come up with a percentage greater than 29%. [Show More]

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