Is econometrics just statistics applied to economics or is there also some deeper difference?
1 Answer
Econometrics is application of mathematics and statistics for the analysis of quantitative and qualitative economic data, in order to estimate various economic relationships, to test the correctness of economic theory and to make predictions regarding the evolution of economic phenomena.
Econometric analysis uses the functional relationships of economic theory and after converting them into mathematics; meaning after constructing a model, tries to assess empirically.
Econometrics is a combination economic theory, statistical theory and facts that aim to empirically test certain relationships between economic variables. While econometrics is a form of applied statistics, it has its own unique set of methods and techniques that are tailored to the study of economics.
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2$\begingroup$ Just to add a bit to Pegasus's excellent answer. Some specific differences are A) A bigger emphasis on the use of error terms in various models and B) The use of structural models which incorporate economic theory into the interpretation of model parameters. In addition, the modelling of expectations is important because people's expectations often play a significant role in economic models. Finally, the issue of simultaneous equations is taken more seriously than it is in statistics. $\endgroup$ Dec 12, 2022 at 4:59
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$\begingroup$ Since it got a couple of up votes, I should mention that , in the comment above, I am referring to time-series econometrics. There are other areas of econometrics ( cross-sectional for example ) that may have other differences that I am not well-versed in. $\endgroup$ Dec 13, 2022 at 16:42