Code

In empirical economics, we need to work with large sets of economic data. In order to manage this data, economists need to work with statistical and coding languages.

It is essential for all economists to have some grasp on the fundamentals of at least one of these statistical and coding programmes.

There are a lot of available options, each one with its own pros and cons, the most common ones used by undergraduates are:

• R: A free language which allows (among other things) for managing data sets and creating different kinds of graphs and tables for data visualization. It has an active community of developers which create "packages" that incorporate all sorts of pre-created functions.

  • The R-project website: https://www.r-project.org/

  • Usually some sort of visual interface is used to facilitate the process, for example Rstudio: https://www.rstudio.com/

• GRETL: Gnu Regression, Econometrics and Time-series Library, is an econometric software, it includes the options of running a variety of regressions and plotting the results in tables as well as graphically.

  • It is compatible with other files formats, such as R files.

  • Its graphic interface makes its use easier than other options.

  • It is somewhat limited when compared with R or STATA.

  • GRETL Website: http://gretl.sourceforge.net/es.html