BEcon 4222 - Introduction to Programming

Course Materials and Resources

Author

Dr. Franziska Bender, Dr. Aurรฉlien Sallin

Published

April 16, 2026

Welcome to BEcon 4222 - Introduction to Programming

This course introduces you to programming fundamentals using Python, with applications in economics and data science.

Course Structure

Lectures

Access weekly lecture slides and materials through the navigation menu above.

Exercises

Hands-on exercises to practice programming concepts.

Administration

Course syllabus, schedule, and administrative information.

Course Content

๐Ÿ“˜ Week 1: Getting Started

Lectures: - Lecture 1a: Introduction - Lecture 1b: Getting Started

Exercises: - Exercise 1: Getting Started - Recap Quiz 1 (non-graded)

Resources: - Common Terminal Commands

๐Ÿ“— Week 2: Version Control with Git

Lectures: - Lecture 2a: Recap Week 1 - Lecture 2b: Version Control

Exercises: - Exercise 2: First Commands in Git

Resources: - Git Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Setup: - Install Git (instructions) - Install VSCode extension: Git Graph

๐Ÿ“™ Week 3: Git and GitHub for Collaboration

Lectures: - Lecture 3: Version Control with Others

In-class exercise: - Exercise 3: Git and GitHub for Collaboration - generate_data.py

Exercises: - Exercise 3: GitHub

๐Ÿ“’ Week 4: Introduction to Python

Lectures: - Lecture 4: Introduction to Python

Exercises: - Exercise 4: Introduction to Python

๐Ÿ“Š Week 5: Python for Data - Part I

Lectures: - Lecture 5: Pandas I - Lecture data: countries_data.csv

Exercises: - Exercise 5: Pandas I - Exercise data: pwt_data_ex5.csv

๐Ÿ“ˆ Week 6: Python for Data - Part II

Lectures: - Lecture 6: Pandas II - Lecture data: your_week6_file.csv

Exercises: - Exercise 6: Pandas II - Exercise data: your_ex6_file.csv

๐Ÿ“ Week 7: Classes and Object-Oriented Programming

Lectures: - Info Group Project - Lecture 7: Classes - Module example: monetary_policy.py

Exercises: - Exercise 7: Classes - Exercise data: pwt_data_ex7.csv

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Use the terminal and command line effectively
  • Write and run Python programs
  • Work with data using Python libraries
  • Use Git and GitHub for version control
  • Apply programming concepts to economic problems