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1 - Introduction

Chris Brooks
Affiliation:
University of Reading
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Summary

This chapter sets the scene for the book by discussing in broad terms the questions of what is econometrics, and what are the ‘stylised facts’ describing financial data that researchers in this area typically try to capture in their models. It also collects together a number of preliminary issues relating to the construction of econometric models in finance.

Learning Outcomes

In this chapter, you will learn how to

  • Distinguish between different types of data

  • Describe the steps involved in building an econometric model

  • Calculate asset price returns

  • Construct a workfile, import data and accomplish simple tasks in EViews

What is econometrics?

The literal meaning of the word econometrics is ‘measurement in economics’. The first four letters of the word suggest correctly that the origins of econometrics are rooted in economics. However, the main techniques employed for studying economic problems are of equal importance in financial applications. As the term is used in this book, financial econometrics will be defined as the application of statistical techniques to problems in finance. Financial econometrics can be useful for testing theories in finance, determining asset prices or returns, testing hypotheses concerning the relationships between variables, examining the effect on financial markets of changes in economic conditions, forecasting future values of financial variables and for financial decision-making. A list of possible examples of where econometrics may be useful is given in box 1.1.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • Introduction
  • Chris Brooks, University of Reading
  • Book: Introductory Econometrics for Finance
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841644.002
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  • Introduction
  • Chris Brooks, University of Reading
  • Book: Introductory Econometrics for Finance
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841644.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Chris Brooks, University of Reading
  • Book: Introductory Econometrics for Finance
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841644.002
Available formats
×