Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by David Hendry
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of symbols and abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- 1 Econometric modelling, a preliminary view
- 2 Descriptive study of data
- Part II Probability theory
- Part III Statistical inference
- Part IV The linear regression and related statistical models
- References
- Index
1 - Econometric modelling, a preliminary view
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by David Hendry
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of symbols and abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- 1 Econometric modelling, a preliminary view
- 2 Descriptive study of data
- Part II Probability theory
- Part III Statistical inference
- Part IV The linear regression and related statistical models
- References
- Index
Summary
Econometrics – a brief historical overview
It is customary to begin a textbook by defining its subject matter. In this case this brings us immediately up against the problem of defining ‘econometrics’. Such a definition, however, raises some very difficult methodological issues which could not be discussed at this stage. The epilogue might be a better place to give a proper definition. For the purposes of the discussion which follows it suffices to use a working definition which provides only broad guide-posts of its intended scope:
Econometrics is concerned with the systematic study of economic phenomena using observed data.
This definition is much broader than certain textbook definitions narrowing the subject matter of econometrics to the ‘measurement’ of theoretical relationships as suggested by economic theory. It is argued in the epilogue that the latter definition of econometrics constitutes a relic of an outdated methodology, that of the logical positivism (see Caldwell (1982)). The methodological position underlying the definition given above is largely hidden behind the word ‘systematic’. The term systematic is used to describe the use of observed data in a framework where economic theory as well as statistical inference play an important role, as yet undefined. The use of observed data is what distinguishes econometrics from other forms of studying economic phenomena.
Econometrics, defined as the study of the economy using observed data, can be traced as far back as 1676, predating economics as a separate discipline by a century.
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- Information
- Statistical Foundations of Econometric Modelling , pp. 3 - 22Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1986