Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics (+ Audio CD)

The result is an incredibly rich set of dataБЂ”which, if the right questions are asked of it, tells some surprising stories. How can this type of data be made to tell a reliable story? By subjecting it to the economistБЂ™s favorite trick: regression analysis. No, regression analysis is not some forgotten form of psychiatric treatment. It is a powerfulБЂ”if limitedБЂ”tool that uses statistical techniques to identify otherwise elusive correlations. Correlation is nothing more than a statistical term that indicates whether two variables move together. It tends to be cold outside when it snows; those two factors are positively correlated. Sunshine and rain, meanwhile, are negatively correlated. Easy enoughБЂ”as long as there are only a couple of variables. But with a couple of hundred variables, things get harder. Regression analysis is the tool that enables an economist to sort out these huge piles of data. It does so by artificially holding constant every variable except the two he wishes to focus on, and then showing how those two co-vary ...»