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2.4: Key Concepts

  • Page ID
    45728
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    Key Concepts

    Variables: measures that can take on different sizes.

    Data: recorded values of variables.

    Time series data: a set of measurements made sequentially at different points in time.

    High (low) frequency data series have short (long) intervals between observations.

    Cross-section data: values for different variables recorded at a point in time.

    Repeated cross-section data: cross-section data recorded at regular or irregular intervals.

    Longitudinal data follow the same units of observation through time.

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    Consumer price index: the average price level for consumer goods and services.

    Inflation (deflation) rate: the annual percentage increase (decrease) in the level of consumer prices.

    Real price: the actual price adjusted by the general (consumer) price level in the economy.

    Index number: value for a variable, or an average of a set of variables, expressed relative to a given base value.

    Regression line: representation of the average relationship between two variables in a scatter diagram.

    Positive economics studies objective or scientific explanations of how the economy functions.

    Normative economics offers recommendations that incorporate value judgments.

    Economic equity is concerned with the distribution of well-being among members of the economy.


    This page titled 2.4: Key Concepts is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Douglas Curtis and Ian Irvine (Lyryx) .

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