Exploring Educational Econometric Software. A decade of experiences with Gretl

Resumen

Training individuals capable of analysing, understanding and explaining the functioning of theeconomy is a big challenge for Schools of Economics and Business. In this context, Econometrics canbe considered as a strategic tool, providing competences referred to the ability to search, process andanalyse information, and identify, pose and solve problems. Since the skills in the use of Informationand Communication Technologies (ICT) are increasingly important and the educational software playsan outstanding role in the teaching-learning process, in this paper we focus on the adequacy ofsoftware packages, proposing the “Four-F” test and examining Gretl (Gnu Regression Econometricsand Time series Library) as a case study. The Four-F test includes the requirements of Freedom,Flexibility, Functionality and Friendliness and, in order to test these hypotheses, we have collectedempirical evidence through online students´ surveys. The obtained results provide interestinginformation, confirming that Gretl is perceived as a free, flexible and friendly software package, anddetecting some difficulties related to the most demanding functionality requirements, such as the Gretlconsole.