Looking at a Large CPS Data Set with Over 60,000

question 14

Essay

Looking at a large CPS data set with over 60,000 observations for the United States and the year 2004, you find that the average number of years of education is approximately 13.6. However, a surprising large number of individuals (approximately 800)have quite a low value for this variable, namely 6 years or less. You decide to drop these observations, since none of your relatives or friends have that few years of education. In addition, you are concerned that if these individuals cannot report the years of education correctly, then the observations on other variables, such as average hourly earnings, can also not be trusted. As a matter of fact you have found several of these to be below minimum wages in your state. Discuss if dropping the observations is reasonable.

---

Definitions:

Average

A numerical value expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, calculated as the sum of the values divided by their number.

Rectifiers

Electrical devices that convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), allowing the flow of charge in one direction only, and are widely used in power supply units and electronics.

Converters

Devices that transform energy from one form to another, such as AC to DC in electrical systems, or physical units in digital systems.

Amperes

The unit of electric current, representing the flow of one coulomb of charge per second.