Transcript Excel tips

Japan’s Modern Economy
Excel Tips
September 11, 2007
Economics 272
Excel (1 of 3)
• How to get notebooks, log in
• Go to Cabinet Office web site
• download GDP data (as .cvs file)
• Import into Excel
• Calculate GDP year-on-year growth rates
• Create graph
• Calculate trade as share of GDP
• Net trade, exports, imports
• Create graph
• ∑ trade not a big share of Japan’s economy!
• But net trade grew recently, undergirding growth
Excel (2 of 3)
• Excel tricks
– May need to make columns wider to be
able to see numbers [depends on setup]
– Insert blank columns
– Use “=” sign to begin formulas, can use
mouse to select, keyboard “/” to divide
• Then format cell if necessary to get %
– Can drag to replicate for a column
Excel (3 of 3)
• Select a column of data and then Insert Chart
to start setup menu
– I use a line graph for this sort of data
– Need to go to the series tab to select year
headings for bottom
• Make sure have a data cell corresponding to each label
or they won’t align in your graph!
– I then fiddle with the xy axis labels to get where
things end up, size etc
• We’ll practice again!!