Book Description

The modern approach of this text recognizes that econometrics has moved from a specialized mathematical description of economics to an applied interpretation based on empirical research techniques.It bridges the gap between the mechanics of econometrics and modern applications of econometrics by employing a systematic approach motivated by the major problems facing applied researchers today.Throughout the text, the emphasis on examples gives a concrete reality to economic relationships and allows treatment of interesting policy questions in a realistic and accessible framework. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Did the trick ...
As an undergraduate student, studying econometrics I advise that this book is a very (very) basic introduction to econometrics (one-step up from basic statistics, probabilities, etc).

One minus of the book, is that it lacks detailed examples of some of the key concepts (which is defintiely a must when you are learning something new) .... the concepts are detailed enough but it is always helpful to have a real world example of the concept.

Also, some of the chapters can induce learning overload and require intense concentration ... which I found to be quite annoying (as you do when you are a student). If the chapters were broken up a bit more, it would be a far easier read (see my recommendation below concerning an easier read).

However, the appendices are most excellent for review of key prior mathmatical knowledge (probabilities,statistics, etc) ... but you will likely need to know your "stuff" before you attempt to read this book (which is logical really).

If you are interested in econometrics but not so good with maths, I recommend purchasing Schaum's outlines: an introduction to mathematical economics by Edward T Dowling, as this is a most excellent, informative book with hundreds of worked through examples.

Additionally, I have also recently read "Learning and practising econometrics" by William E Griffiths et al, and this is a far easier read than Woolridges book ... but maybe that is because I have already read Woolridges book (just a thought).

At any rate whilst using this book, I passed my basic econometrics 200 level course, with a pleasing grade. So all in all, the book did do the trick!

Good luck, Kristina

commment
I love this book even as a graduate student. It covers all the major issues in the fields and explains it more easily to understand than the graduate texts. I borrowed a copy and then decided to buy one.

Good but not enough.
I bought Wooldridge`s book about 5 months ago, because I needed an introductory text, which is newer than Gujarati`s Basic Econometrics (1995).
Wooldridge's book is easy to understand, covers most of the topics you can expect. Good for beginners, undergraduate courses, but finally I still felt necessary to buy Gujarati`s book too. The latter is just better for an introductory-intermediate text.
If you have a low budget, and you need a text that you can use in the long run as well, choose rather Gujarati`s book.

a great introduction into econometrics
Wooldridge has managed to write a great and intuitive introduction into econometrics. The book doesn't require any prerequisites despite basic high school math and statistics. Matrix algebra is only used in some of the appendices, which is a bit sad, as the introduction of it in the text, and the usage during the text, would have been a major advantage when reading more advanced books on econometrics. Despite that, the book is really fascinating. Written in a simple yet rather rigorous style, accessible and self-explanatory. The examples aren't always economic, which is a small lack, but in a way Wooldridge does what he is promising to do: He introduces the reader into the methods of modern econometrics, from a very solid and thorough coverage of OLS to more advanced methods such as panel data analysis, time series (basics, unit roots, co-integration) or ILS and 2SLS (simultaneous equation models). In my opinion, the book can be used for two one-semester courses. The availability of data sets for the computer exercises is useful for both students as well as instructors. Apart from its lack of matrix algebra, this book presents a consistent, solid, but easily understandable introduction into econometric methods so that even survey articles from e.g. the Handbook of International Economics using econometrics are rather easily readable. Kennedy's 'A Guide to Econometrics' makes a good companion, for further studies, Greene's econometric bible ('Econometric Analysis') is probably the most recommendable book.

Excellent book
This book gives very good intuition about the econometric analysis tools. For econometrics, this is the simplest book that covers so much and explains things so simply.
I definetely recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive state-of-the-art text on microeconometric methods. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Simply a great text..
If you are frustrated with the presentation in Greene and other econometric textbooks, then you may want to take a look at this book. It's the anti-Greene, full of clear, well-motivated presentations. What I love about this book is that the author clearly intended for it to be used by students -- even though you can find all the formal results that you would expect from an advanced econometrics text, there is so much intuition that can't be found anywhere else (at least in one book). If you plan on doing applied research, get this book!

Simply the best in its field.
Wooldridge fills an enormous gap in the market between applied manuals (which do not deliver enough theory for an academically serious audience), and theory books (that leave you scratching your head as to how one is supposed to implement their results). This is a wonderful book for economic practitioners who want enough theoretical knowledge to support their applied work, but who don't want the theory obscuring the practical issues. An econometric theoretician might find another work more satisfying.

Five stars just because of the other books.
I have bought this book to have a comprehensive intermediate-advanced text on panel data and other approaches. The book is good, but no tables, no datasets, no figures!
Compared to other books on the topic, it is a very understandable book, but only COMPARED to those books. You do not have to be a Mathematician to understand it, but you must be at least intermediate in econometrics (after Gujarati or an intermediate course).

A Gold Mine of Microeconometric Methods
If you are interested in learning the latest microeconometric methods, this book will save you from long hours of sorting through the literature. Wooldridge has brought together in a well organized, clear and concise manner the state of the art techniques in microeconometrics. His book covers all of the core issues involving single equation and simultaneous equation models. The most important aspects of M-estimation, MLE, GMM and minimum distance estimation are carefully presented. Those interested in limited dependent and qualitative variables will find that this goes well beyond Maddala's classic book. In addition to new developments in logit, probit and tobit, Wooldridge explains sample selection, attrition and stratified sampling. He covers research by Heckman et al on estimating average treatment effects using instrumental variables. I found his material on negative binomial regression, binomial regression, exponential regression and fractional logit regression to be especially interesting. He concludes his book with a nice summary of research on duration analysis. Throughout the book Wooldridge shows how to handle panel data with the various techniques he covers. Anyone doing applied work with cross section or panel data runs the risk of being left behind if they fail to read this new classic of microeconometrics. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Now, it has a competitor
Greene is NOT a very good book. However it not a bad one either.

It is only a comprehensive book on Econometrics, more suitable for applied economists for a quick review.

I do not like the author's style of presenting the proof before the theorem. This makes it difficult and confusing to follow.

Before buying it, the customer should take a look at a more recent, well organized, great competitor, and better book both for practitioners and a more theoretical econometrists:

Ruud, Arthur. An Introduction to Classical Econometric Theory.

An Indispensable Book for Applied Econometrics
This is an indispensable book for applied econometrics students. It has lots of applied and a reasonable degree of theoretical stuff. What is missing in many advanced econometrics textbooks, including the popular books Davidson and MacKinnon (1993) and Hamilton (1994), is some data sets and some results based on them so you can learn econometrics by actually doing it, not by simply having to trust the author's results. I mean, after all, what is the point of putting actual data examples in a book if the reader cannot replicate them because he does not have the data? In the preface to his important 1971 textbook Principles of Econometrics Theil remarks that "...nobody should believe that he will be able to handle statistical data in economics without touching actual data." I cannot agree more.
I use Ox and Gauss for my econometric analyses and write lots of codes. The very first thing I need is a clear explanation of the theory and some results to check the accuracy of my codes. In those respects Greene's book is the champion. You have the theory, the data sets and the results. Replicate them and learn. I believe this is how you can learn applied econometrics.
Besides Greene's book, I could also recommend "Patterson (2000) An Introduction to Applied Econometrics" for applied time series. You can get the data sets used in this book by contacting the author.
Finally, answering some critics. First, I do not think that evaluations of this book based on some course experiences are unbiased. If you use a book to pass a Ph.D. course its usefulness depends very much on the structure of the course. And some books are better suited to the course than others. Actually, no book can beat a good set of lecture notes. Second, if you think you are a serious econometrics student, go to the original papers for proofs and the sources of the mathematical equations. If you look for them in textbooks you are in the wrong place. Third, the author does not just throw in a lot of numbers. He gives you the theory and the results. The rest is your job. If you cannot figure out how he got those numbers, get a tutor.

Econometrics Analysis by William H. Greene
I used the first edition of this book as a graduate student in my econometrics class. The book is very confusing and hard to understand. It's still of no help to me now that I am a professor and writing research paper. Whenever I need a review in econometrics I use Judge et all; "The Theory and practice of econometrics." It is a better book, well written, and easy to follow. Unfortunately it is off print. We need a better book than the one by Greene. If it was for me, this book should be put where it belongs, in the garbage.

this book stinks
i bought this book as a grad student a couple of years ago. as the title of this review suggests, this book stinks. it's poorly organized, and the proof and derivations (when included) are difficult to follow not because the math is hard but because greene's not a good mathematical writer. if you have to learn econometrics, go with hayashi and hamilton; they're way better.

just so confusing
Having used Greene's text for my undergraduate econometrics course I think its really important to point out its faults.
1The layout is confusing and hard to follow,
2the math is clunky and inelegant
3its more useful as a weapon (SO heavy)
4Plus it gives asymptotic results in a somewhat misleading manner.
5It is far from impossible to cover results of the same level in a clearer and more COHERENT way
6Probably its only strong point is that it covers a vast number of topics.
7Why is this text so widely used? ... Read more

Book Description

First course in Econometrics in Economics Departments at better schools, also Economic/Business Forecasting. Statistics prerequisite but nocalculus. Slightly higher level and more comprehensive than Gujarati (M-H, 1996) . P-R covers more time series and forecasting. P-R coverage is notch below Johnston-DiNardo (M-H, 97) and requires no matrix algebra.Includes data disk. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great equations, bad explanations
The subject of econometrics is difficult for the beginner. I have yet to encounter a text that does a great job at explaining both the concepts and the math required to be proficient in this field. I completed three courses, two undergraduate and one graduate level, for which this book was the required text. Like most of my classmates I was never able to fully comprehend the concepts behind the numbers using this text alone. Now that I have a better grasp of econometrics I will vehemently suggest that this text provides a poor verbal description of what a student is actually doing when analyzing data. I found myself reading the chapters 2 or 3 times and still felt unsure of what was going on. Where this book is strong is in its presentation of equations. I highly recommend supplementing this text with Peter Kennedy's, "A Guide to Econometrics," which gives excellent verbal explanations but de-emphasizes the math. These two texts together make a great study for a difficult subject.

It's not that bad
I'm giving this book 5 stars largely to balance out the somewhat unfair reviews that were given. For what it is -- an econometrics textbook that tries to present overview of neginning to intermediate econometrics and forecasting WITHOUT a lot of linear algebra -- it's a pretty good book. While it has its rough spots, the book has many good features. One of the really good features of this book is presenting the material with an emphasis on model building ... a very important emphasis that is too often ignored in other econometrics texts. In an ideal world, this book deserves at least an average of 4 stars and would deserve more if the readers made things more readable and better incorporated advances in econometrics since previous editions.

Hardly readable
This is one of the not so good econometric textbooks I've ever read. The mathematical notations appear to be very confusing and untidy, the text is excessively lengthy. But one who writes actuarial exams has to read it because it is the official textbook.

econometrics for the statistically literate
This is a very good text for an undergraduate student taking a first course in regression analysis and modelling. It is very comprehensive and has some very good examples for a beginner. The only problem is that the field of stochastic modelling is very dynamic so some of the material covered in the book has become outdated.

A very good starter's textbook.
This was my first econometrics textbook 7 years ago. Not difficult at all, but covers the most important material for econometrics students at the beginner's level. Good structure and good examples.You may not be able to find everything there, because it is not "advanced" version. A little bit outdated. Newly developed ideas and technichs are not covered. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

High on the How, Low on the Why
For a complicated subject like econometrics, or advanced statistics in general, a truly easy to follow overview text is probably impossible. This book comes close and does a fine job of explaining the fundamentals (as an introduction or refresher) before getting into the nitty-gritty of econometrics. There are many examples and problem sets to illustrate the concepts, and the formulas are laid out well and presented in a logical order. You can clearly see how the complex formulas are generated and how they apply to econometric theories. The problem with this book is that the technical focus leads to a distressing lack of conceptual, big-picture understanding. You get exhaustive instructions on HOW to calculate complex statistical tools such as coefficients of determination or multiple aggression analyses. However, regardless of the real-world problem sets used as examples, there is usually little indication of WHY such exercises would be conducted, or WHAT the results truly mean. For example, you know how variance came to equal 2.9167, but does that number truly mean anything? An added problem is generally under-explained definitions of the terms, and a glossary sure would be helpful. This book will teach you with great precision how to calculate, but with precious little on how to interpret the results. {~doomsdayer520~]

The best book our there for undergraduate classes.
It's the best book out there for understanding basis statistics and its application to economics. It is very easy to read, understand and relatively easy to teach considering the intensity of the subject.

Not bad, but not great!
As an undergraduate economics student, this book served as a good reference for econometrics. While some basic information was omitted (which I would have found helpful), the book does an adequate job of laying out regression analysis, and its prerequisites, in a logical manner. The greatest sign of the value of a book, for a college student, is whether it is kept at the conclusion of a class or sold back. I kept this book, but I continue to look for an even better econometrics reference.

Way too confusing
This book may be understandable for a professor. But as a student, it is way too confusing for a person who is just learning econometrics to grasp. A student can get really lost in this book. Overall, it is not worth the money to purchase

Essentials of econometrics- a professor's opinion
This book certainly has its good points; it is written in a non-technical manner which allows everyone the ability to grasp technical material; it also presents statistics thorougly before it introduces Econometrics.As an professor, the major weakness is that there are not enough applications in areas such as forecasting; there were also errors in the first edition which needed to be corrected, and there was perhaps too much emphasis in teaching Statistics(Some of it is irrelevant to

Econometrics). However, I would certainly recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Good intro book, bad in time series
I used Stock&Watson for my first undergraduate econometrics course. I liked it at the time but as I advance in time series I find that one could be much better prepared in this area from an intro course. Time series is a very interesting and big area and using Stock&Watson for the first course in econometrics gives one the impression that it is only a side topic.

THE BEST
This is a great textbook for undergraduate econometrics (some graduate students would also benefit from some chapters, like the one on Instrumental Variables, or Program Evaluation, or the chapters on Time Series & Forecasting). No wonder Mark Watson is one of the authors, since he is one of the best teachers I ever had. The book is clear, and it skips a lot of useless, obsolete stuff that most undergraduates have typically to go over just because everyone else has gone over it before. No time wasted with homoskedasticity, "fixed" regressors, Durbin-Watson. Everything is based on large-sample theory, the regressors are never assumed to be "nonstochastic", and homoskedasticity is treated as an exception (which is what happens in practice), not as a rule. There are nice, long empirical applications in each chapter, and some examples are dealt with in more chapters, so that you can see how new concepts are applied to the same problem, and how our understanding of the problem changes and improves with more refined tools. For more advanced students, mathematical appendixes (and a few chapters at the end) also provide reasonably accessible but relatively complex proofs. A great book.

A very helpful and well written textbook
I've only used one other econometrics textbook and this the superior of the two. I felt that the text was excellently written, and gave the instructor and the student the option of treating the subjects as technical or less technical and more conceptual. The appendix in the end of the chapters are very helpful and clearly written. The examples and the outline of the material are clear and concise. This textbook seems very flexible. I recommend it.

Like the curate's egg: good in parts
An uneven book. Some of the explanations are clear and the long applications can be quite interesting and useful. However, several times the authors do not give an explanation that would be intuitively easier to understand. It would also have been helpful to provide some simpler, even if artificial, examples in addition to the longer applications.

These can no doubt be fixed in a second edition. At present, the revised edition of Wooldridge or even the older Jack Johnston is more intuitively appealing, while Greene is more complete.

hard to understand
the authors are all around when they write this book. hard to understand explanations and few examples. i would recoment my professor another book but we started with this one. :( ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Very understandable introduction to econometrics
First of all I will admit, this is the only book I have read for econometrics. It was the book chosen by my professor for my eonometrics class while doing my undergraduate in economics. Having said that I recommend the book. I feel that it is a very good intro to a subject that can get weighted down in technical difficulties for the beginning student. Some people have complained about its lack of rigor or lack of proofs but I feel that is unjustified because all it really does is utilize statistical principles for economics. At my university, and I would assume most, stats was a prereq for this course and in stats you should cover the real nuts and bolts of statistical theory. This would give you your proofs and underlying understanding of the hands on approach this book gives for econometrics. I think that this book is good in that it does give, as it says, a practical guide to econometrics enabling the student to move on to the more analytically rigorous studies of the field. It doesn't overwhelm but leaves you with a foundational sense of understanding.

Fulfil expectations
That book goes straight to the point. First, the title of the book is 100% appropriate. It is about how to use econometrical tools in practice. Second, exercises are E-views oriented, which is also a good point given the user-friendly E-views interface. This book is a very good introductory book for applied econometrics. I've read some reviews criticizing the book for its novice approach and lack of theoretical ground. Well, I would have done so too IF AN ONLY IF the book title had been "Advanced Theory in Econometrics". But it is not!

Good Starting Point for Econometrics
In 2000, I wrote a review of this text. I still stand by my assertion that this is an excellent introduction to econometrics. One thing that I failed to mention in my 2000 review is that this book is good for people who have never seen econometrics in their life. Furthermore, don't expect to see proofs, theorems, etc. This book does not emphasize mathematics.

For a good introductory book that does incorporate calculus, some proofs, etc., get Gujarati's "Basic Econometrics" (not to be confused with Gujarati's "Essentials of Econometrics"). If you're only going to have one introductory book, and you want a mathematical treatment, get Gujarati. If you want an introductory book without a mathematical treatment, get Studenmund.

Warning
This is to econometrics what Lego is to housebuilding. Harsh, perhaps, but this book should be read as a primer before stepping in to the heavy stuff.

A cookbook
Although written for the practioner, I would not recommend this book because it is not technically sound. I certainly would not recommend this book for serious students, as they will learn only techniques without knowing the foundations. Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. ... Read more

Book Description

Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. The first edition of Applied Econometric Time Series was among those chosen.

This new edition reflects recent advances in time-series econometrics, such as out-of-sample forecasting techniques, non-linear time-series models, Monte Carlo analysis, and bootstrapping. Numerous examples from fields ranging from agricultural economics to transnational terrorism illustrate various techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

An Elementary Book
The book is an introduction to time series and covers ARMA, VAR Unit roots and Basic Cointegration, is a good book for people that want learn time series quickly, the book has some elementary theory of time series and many examples and exercises, the computacional problems needs some of RATS ...the book describes time series without advanced mathematics.

An understandable and fun introduction to time series
I bought Walter Enders book several years ago, when I was an undergraduate student. It's a nice manual. Perhaps you won't see the statistical demonstration of the unit-root (Dickey-Fuller) test, but you will understand why it doesn't follow a standard probability distribution and you'll know how to use it. It's the same idea with Perron's unit-root with structural change test. The author introduces the reader to the main topics of interest in the time series field; ARIMA, VAR, ARCH, unit roots, cointegration, and distinction between deterministic trends and stochastic trends. This work is done through an understandable and fun text. You will enjoy reading the book. Besides that, the author illustrates each topic with an economic example perfectly presented and, in general, very interesting (business cycles, PPP, foreign exchange Market efficiency, Unit roots in GNP for example). I particularly enjoyed the unit root and the perron's test chapters. I used them a lot in my final work in college. Here, you will have the simplest explanation of ARCH processes. As someone else said, this is only an introductory book (for applied econometricians it should be seen as an excellent and very intuitive cookbook); if you are interested in time series, you can begin here, but you should then reading more advanced books, such as Hamilton's Time Series Analysis. A great combination of introductory manuals can be achieved if you have Johnston and Dinardo "Econometric models".

a good place to start
This is the best place to start to learn time series econometrics for anyone who has in his background only basic econometrics, calculus and matrix algebra. The reason is that Enders makes very complicated subject to look rather simple. This book shows how and why time-series is different from standard econometrics. It covers a lot of models employed in time series: ARMA, VAR, Unit Roots, Cointegration and Error-Correction. It proposes simple strategies that applied researchers can follow making their treatment of time-series more or less adequate. However, you would underestimate complexity of time series after reading this book. I would recommend to combine it at least with Hamilton's book.

The Chiang of the time series
As the other reviewers pointed out, the greatest quality of the Enders's book is its readability. It is, most certainly, a very good introduction to the topic. It is getting old, though. The developments in the time series literature have been pretty fast and a new edition would certainly be a good idea.

A Practical Book
Starting with the Difference Equations (Ch 1), Enders will walk you through practical methods involved in time series.

This is a good introductory book in time series. But, it has some practical aspects. For example, in Chapter 3, the yen/dollar exchange rate model is cited, indicating non-random walk behavior in this exchange market so that an efficient market hypothesis may not apply here. Then the business cycles are discussed. As the cycles in exchange markets are what some technical traders look for, an approach like this is valuable to working analysts. ... Read more

Book Description

Gujarati’s Basic Econometrics provides an elementary but comprehensive introduction to econometrics without resorting to matrix algebra, calculus, or statistics beyond the elementary level. Because of the way the book is organized, it may be used at a variety of levels of rigor.For example, if matrix algebra is used, theoretical exercises may be omitted. A CD of data sets is provided with the text. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

confusing notation
This book, although much-used, presents considerable problems from the point of view of the student using this as an introductory text for econometrics.

First, the layout is quite dense and does not provide much guidance as to the relative importance of results. It would be far more helpful for the presentation to reflect the logical buildup of an argument to its conclusion.

Instead, although the verbal exposition is usually quite clear, the presentation is a jumble, with many relatively lengthy derivations placed in footnotes! This is bad pedagogigally, as it encourages the student to skip over what are useful (and often not too difficult)parts.

Second, and worse, is the continued use of deviation notation (ie. expressing a random variable in terms of deviation from its expected value) throughout the book. For this reason alone, I would never recommend this textbook for any class (incidentally, can anyone think of another textbook that follows this bizarre notation)? This is because, for the student who wishes to work through all derivations (which I always encourage) it imposes extra time constraints and a need to flick back through the book to check how variables are defined. This is incredibly frustrating and demotivating, and puts many students off econometrics before they've even given it a fair try.

Third, the book reveals what is (to my mind) an unhealthy preoccupation with estimation issues, as opposed to those of data quality. As people like Granger have consistently pointed out, the real issues in 21st century econometrics have to do with what sort of data we have, and what methods are most appropriate in different situations. Gujurati, partly reflecting its long-standing use, merely dwells on the iid specification. However, I should point out in its defence that this third defect is shared by most other introductory (and graduate) textbooks on econometrics.

As stated above, I would never recommend this book, preferring instead Hill's "Introductory Econometrics" which both motivates the student and takes them through the steps and methods they will need to adopt in further econometric studies, and always provides a good reference when it omits proofs and other details.

BEST INTRODUCTION YOU CAN FIND
Hi everyone:
If you've never done econometrics, and you're about to take your first course in econometrics, make sure you have this book. With this book you will have a competitive advantage over your classmates because you will not only know the what and the how, but also the why. In short you'll become a shrewd econometrician.
NB: This book is excellent but only as an introduction. If you've already taken econometrics, then you might wanna get the more advanced Greene.

Thank you,

Still the best
Gujarati`s Basic Econometrics is old (1995, 3th edition), but still the best introductory/intermediate text you can get for your money. Comprehensive, easy to understand, ideal for undergraduate students who needs not only a textbook, but a referencebook too.
Perhaps not the newest, but I am planning to use it as basic textbook for an undergraduate econometrics course. I could find another book, but this is the only one that, I am sure, my students will be able to understand without any problem.

Excellent reference book
Good for both students and graduates, this book offers clear description of concepts and equations.

A good, but quite old, introduction to econometrics book
I used this book during my first 2 courses of econometrics during the college. Yoo'll know, after reading the first chapters, everything about the basic tool in the field, ols (this could be seen as a problem, because you spend too much time studying too many details; an economist doesn't necessarily need such knowledge and an amateur econometrist should rather begin with a more concise manual). It's an "easy-to-read" book. Every standard student (like myself) should be able to understand everything even if he is going on his own. The problem with this book is that Gujarati wrote it 15 years ago (aprox.); the way of teaching econometrics has evolved, Gujarati's not. It's true; the recent re-editions of the book include several modern topics, such as time series and an introduction to unit roots. But the way regression problems (autocorrelation, heterocedasticity, etcetera) are treated isn't perfectly actualized. A much more modern approach and, as far as I know equally simple, can be found in Johnston and Dinardo's Econometric Methods. Gujarati's is a good idea for those wishing to learn econometrics, but there are better options, such as the one I already mentioned, the Greene and the Hill/Griffiths/Judge's. This book is much better than Maddala's. In conclusion I can say this book is a good option for undergraduate students, but not the best one. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (62)

Highly Recommended!
This is a new edition of Milton Friedman's classic 1962 capitalist manifesto. As such, it was ignored, spurned and hated for decades by the intellectual, post-Keynesian establishment. In the 60s, Friedman once found himself debating a liberal who attacked him by simply reciting Friedman's views of the proper role of government. This was working rather well with the audience of college students until he quoted Friedman's opposition to the military draft. Friedman suddenly found himself awash in the unexpected cheers of students. Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of his career. Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976, and his ideas gained some degree of mainstream acceptance in the Reagan years - although many of his thoughts remain controversial. To the extent that Friedman debunks myths about the Great Depression that are widely accepted as fact, perhaps he has a point about the semi-privatization of education. We strongly recommend this volume to those who seek a deeper understanding of government's role in a free-market economy.

Compelling and informative
Milton Friedman, far from just paraphrasing Keynes, has given a grand refutation of Keynesian economics as well as argued persuasively for the free-market.

"Capitalism and Freedom" dispels the myths about capitalism that have become so prevalent in our society: that the free-market caused the depression (it was actually a tyrannical Federal Reserve), that socialism can be democratic, and others. Milton's prose is clear and the book is good for those who haven't majored in economics. He gives an unwavering defense of personal freedom and individual autonomy from a minimalist government perspective.

This book is an important contribution to public discourse and although written about 40 years ago, still has relevance today.

Friedman discusses public education, roads, minimum wage laws (which he calls, "the most anti-black law on the statute books," and rightfully so as you'll see if you read this book), as well as the how so-called "progressive" tax system and welfare actually hurt the poor.

Friedman's other great contribution is "Free to Choose," which was written about 20 years ago and expounds on the ideas in "Capitalism and Freedom" in a bit more depth. But this is a good, short, concise book to start with that'll get you asking questions.

Important foundation text - should be studied and considered
This is a foundation text that should be widely read and studied. Whether you agree with Friedman or not is not the point. These are ideas you need to actually consider and wrestle with. If you end up disagreeing with him and can state why, you will be the stronger for it. It is not enough to rail against them emotionally or call them lies. They are not lies; they are ideas and arguments that ask for debate. Personally, I have always been a fan of Friedman and am ever grateful that he stood against the tide of the postwar political movements with these powerful arguments for freedom.

People often caricature Friedman to their own discredit. His arguments here are not simply that government is bad, but that using government is often a poor way to get at a desirable social end. He certainly does not need me to speak for him, but if you think he is for huge corporations and letting the poor without help to fend for themselves, you misunderstand him and should read this work carefully. Big corporations, he argues several places in this book, are the result of taxation schemes that encourage the retention and reinvestment of earnings that would otherwise have gone to the shareholders to reinvest as they see fit - in other enterprises, consumption, or charity (as well as in taxes). This is only one example among many of popular prejudices against Friedman that do him real injustice.

The book is only a couple of hundred pages, is not hard to read, but does pay off the most dividends if you take your time reading it and consider what he has to say rather than jumping to conclusions without wrestling with your own thoughts (whether you agree with the author or not). It was written in 1962, so some of the context of the book will require some understanding on the part of the reader. It was a very different time than today. However, the arguments remain solid and strong to the benefit of anyone who will spend time thinking about why they agree or disagree with this Nobel Laureate.

Oh, and he uses the word LIBERAL for his philosophy and explains the word in it classic sense rather than in the modern US re-definition of the word.

Capitalism and Freedom
How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? Milton Friedman presents his view of the proper role of competitive capitalism as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom.

Clearly Pro-American
Capitalism has risen and crushed its opponents, socialism and communism, because the principals of capitalism rely on sheer power. We see the United States as a shining symbol of Capitalism and Freedom, yet the US is only one part of it. Capitalism is controlled and perpetuated by the middle class, but relies on the workforce of the lower class. In the United States, there is virtually no lower class. Instead, the United States has become THE middle class of the world, exploiting workers in foreign countries - Liberia (in the earlier 20th century), China, India, and countless other countries have become victim to the United States' corporate power.

One cannot look at the United States alone and say "Look! Here is capitalism's glory! Here are millions of rich people!" We must also look at the rest of the world, of billions who are poor, of hundreds of millions who are starving.

Then you could argue that the US's capitalism is better than other countries' capitalism. But how is this possible? Capitalism extends over the entire world, interconnected all countries. Yes, the US government has more regulations for the economy, but ultimately this is worthless because US corporations can transgress those regulations outside the country, where they truly operate.

So, what gives Americans freedom? Money. We are wealthy, and others sacrifice their freedoms, hundreds of millions of under-minimum-wage workers living in dirt-poor conditinos, so that the great United States of America can be rich and free. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Well worth getting the update
Cheng Hsiao's 1986 monograph "Analysis of Panel Data" drew the attention of many to the inherent advantages of using longitudinal (ie. panel) data sets, where the same subjects are observed at different periods in time. Substantially as a result of Hsiao's excellent presentation of key issues, the volume of research using panel data increased dramatically during the next fifteen years.

It is especially timely that Hsiao has written an updated version of this classic. All the essential concepts from the first edition have been retained; in addition, the author does a very good job of providing coverage of the many advances which have been made in analysis of panel data since 1986.

Of special note, in relation to the second edition, are the chapters on dynamic models (Ch. 4) and discrete response models (Ch. 7). These two areas have been particularly in need of an updated treatment, since a great deal of recent research has taken place into the properties of estimators in these situations. Hsiao's treatments of these are correct up to and including 2001, which provides a major service for researchers interested in these topics.

An alternative book, by Badi Baltagi, exists. However, Hsiao's book is superior and should be purchased by all who wish to pursue modern empirical work.

A classic.
This book is a classic on panel data econometrics. Nevertheless, the materials in this book do not account for nonstationary panel data. I am anxiously waiting for Arellano's Panel Data Econometrics, which contains up-to-date treatment.

A book necessary for panel data analysis
This neat monograph is necessary for any research in panel data analysis. ... Read more

Book Description

Liquid markets generate hundreds or thousands of ticks (the minimum change in price a security can have, either up or down) every business day. Data vendors such as Reuters transmit more than 275,000 prices per day for foreign exchange spot rates alone. Thus, high-frequency data can be a fundamental object of study, as traders make decisions by observing high-frequency or tick-by-tick data. Yet most studies published in financial literature deal with low frequency, regularly spaced data. For a variety of reasons, high-frequency data are becoming a way for understanding market microstructure. This book discusses the best mathematical models and tools for dealing with such vast amounts of data.
This book provides a framework for the analysis, modeling, and inference of high frequency financial time series. With particular emphasis on foreign exchange markets, as well as currency, interest rate, and bond futures markets, this unified view of high frequency time series methods investigates the price formation process and concludes by reviewing techniques for constructing systematic trading models for financial assets. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

From the experts in the field
Michel Dacorogna and the team at the former Olsen & Associates are well-known experts in the field of foreign exchange rate data analysis, and their book provides us with a vast, useful source of information. Unfortunately for students and other beginners, the book is written like a compilation of papers and review articles, the opposite of pedagogical, and with an awful choice of 'computerese' notation (MA(t,n)=sum(EMA(t',k)... etc) that makes Boudhaud-Potters look easy in comparison. More to the point, even their noncomputerese notation is difficult to follow. I hope for a very different second edition written pedagogically for students of this growing and important field. On the positive side, data analyses are performed using logarithmic returns, not price increments. Workers in the field who consult this text will find it helpful.

For the new millenium...that's what we need.
The book covers a wide range of topics related to high-frequency data in Finance. There is a very detailed approach to tackle a huge amount of data and to deal with its based stylized facts. The book triggers the reader's desire to update his knowledge in the field of finance.

More Than An Introduction
This one of the few books on high frequency finance is a most welcome to the literature. The book is useful not only for people who are new to the subject but also for researchers in the field since it is a most uniform treatment of many topics. From adaptive data cleaning (chapter 4) to intraday and weekly seasonality (chapter 6) and real time trading models (chapter 11), it covers a broad range of topics specific to high frequency financial time series analysis. Chapters on volatility modeling (Chapter 8), forecasting (chapter 9) and correlation and multivariate risk (chapter 10) are enlightening especially for risk exposure analysis and risk management purposes. Finally, the the extensive bibliography is a precious source for those who would like to explore certain topics in detail. I highly recommend it for practitioners as well as researchers in the field. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is a thorough update of the original Methods and Materials of Demography (1976). Every chapter is new, written exclusively for this edition.
Like the original, Red Book, the Second Edition presents a systematic and comprehensive exposition of the methods used by technicians and research workers in dealing with demographic data. It is concerned with the ways data on population are gathered, classified, and treated to produce tabulations and various summarizing measures that reveal the significant aspects of the composition and dynamics of populations. It also sets forth the sources, limitations, underlying definitions, and bases of classification, as well as the techniques and methods that have been developed for summarizing and analyzing the data. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

REVIEW OF THE 2ND EDITION
Another review displayed here refers to the 1st edition, which was published in 1976. This review covers the 2nd edition, which was published in March 2004. The 2nd Edition by J. Siegel and D. A. Swanson is hardbound and has around 850 pages. The price ($89.00) is unbelievably low for such a comprehensive and well-written book. It is filled with references and examples and provides updates on data sources while covering the many advances in methods and technology that have occurred since the publication of the first edition. This book can be used both in the classroom and by practitioners. Besides covering and updating everything that was in the 1st edition, it adds new chapters, appendices, and a cross-referenced comprehensive glossary. The 2nd edition by Siegel and Swanson is a worthy successor to the 1st edition by H. Shryock, J. Siegel, and E. Stockwell and is a mandatory book for anybody interested in demography.

A REVIEW OF THE 2nd EDITION
The other review displayed here for the Methods and Material of Demography refers to the 1st edition, published in 1976. This review covers the 2nd edition released in March 2004. The 2nd Edition by Siegel and Swanson is, indeed, the bible of demography. Filled with references and examples, it provides updates on data sources while covering the many advances in methods and technology that have occurred since the publication of the first edition. This book is well-crafted and can be used both in the classroom and by practictioners. Besides covering everything that was in the 1st edition, it adds new chapters and appendices (e.g., health demography and GIS) and provides an excellent cross-referenced glossary as well as a demography timeline. The 2nd edition is a worthy successor to the first edition and is a must-have book for anybody interested in demography.

All basic techniques in Demography - a bibile of demography
An old edition. No recent developments in this book. However, a complete reference in basic demographic methods. ... Read more

Book Description

A classic text in the field, this new edition features a new co-author and provides a well-balanced and comprehensive study of current econometric theory and practice for undergraduate or graduate study.Traditional topics are carefully blended with newer techniques and trends. While the authors of this text assume students have taken a basic course in statistics, they provide a complete appendix on basic statistical theory for those who may need a refresher. In addition, the authors include in an appendix a review of all relevant topics in matrix algebra.Includes data disk. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

excellent text!
Given my relatively weak background in econometrics and statistics, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to understand my graduate econometrics class. However, ever since I started reading from this book, I have managed to follow what my teacher is saying. The steps on how the equations are derived are explained, but without making it too easy for the reader. This textbook is a great help. No wonder this has been around for some time. Nevertheless, I was hoping that there's an answer key for the problems.

The best econometrics book for first year graduate level
After trying many books as a PhD student at Harvard, this
is one of the books I have finally settled on as the best for
understanding the first year graduate-level fundamentals
in econometrics. Just at the right level - keeps econometrics
understandable without trivializing it or filling up needless
pages.

Incredibly Lucid
A classic text , everything is derived using elementary calculus and the subject is practically developed from scratch . A greater emphasis on matrix notation and the inclusion of topics like survival analysis would be a plus though

It is still good.
This is a classical textbook in Econometrics.

Other reviewers have talked about its content, so I will express my opinion only.

Its audience is primarily for undergraduate students taking the first course in Econometrics. For this audience, it is difficult to find a competitor, because the book has everything you need to run a regression in a very straighforward way. That's why sometimes the book gets dry. However, it's fair to say that it is perfectly feasible to learn from it.

Yes, the matrix notation make the things difficult, but there is no other way if you want to learn well Econometrics.

The sequence of tests are presented very well.

Although overall the 4th. edition is better than the 3rd., I think the authors should have left the chapter on matrix in the body of the book and not in the appendix.

I'd say that this book is even better than Greene, and the next book to be read is Ruud.

classical and new methods in econometrics
The bread and butter of econometrics are the statistical tools of regression and time series analysis. This is the fourth edition of a highly respected and widely used text on econometric methods.

The authors cover regression, correlation and least squares in Chapter 1, starting with the simplest linear regression involving a single regressor variable. This allows for an easy introduction to the basic concepts that provide the foundation for what is to come. Chapter 2 introduces the idea of using time as regressor variable. This is a natural lead-in to the more sophisticated time series models of later chapters. It presents important econometric concepts such as elasticity. It also provides some probability theory and time series theory.

Multiple linear regression is then introduced in Chapter 3 along with the important concepts of partial correlation, the Gauss-Markov theorem and variable selection criteria. Also, parameter restrictions are considered in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 includes diagnostic checking of models and the trick of introducing dummy variables into the model to handle dichotomous and categorical variables.

The material becomes more difficult and there is an increase in the mathematical sophistication in Chapter 5. More realistic econometric models enter the discussion and the techniques of maximum likelihood, generalized least squares and Lagrange Multipliers are needed. Instrumental variables are introduced to handle such problems as the error in variables model. The technique of two stage least squares is also introduced here. Basic time series ideas and theory were introduced in Chapter 2 but first really get exploited in Chapter 6 where the concepts of heteroscadasticity and autocorrelation are introduced. Formal univariate time domain analysis of time series including the ARIMA models and trending methods are covered in Chapter 7. More complications and advanced theory are in Chapter 8.

In Chapter 9, the subject of simultaneous equations is introduced. Generalized Method of Moment methods are presented in Chapter 10 as a reasonable and simple estimation approach that is valid in large samples.

Freedman, Navidi, Peters among others have pointed out that the estimators of standard error for parameters in many of the standard econometric methods depend on asymptotic theory and often are very poor for practical problem sizes. They have shown that bootstrap methods can provide much better estimates. It is therefore nice to see that these authors recognize the importance of these resampling methods They devote a full chapter to them. Chapter 11 "A Smorgasbord of Computationally Intensive Methods" covers such resampling techniques as permutation tests, the bootstrap ("nonparametric")and the parametric bootstrap and other computer-intensive methods such as nonparametric density estimation and regression.

Other problems that are unique to econometrics are covered in Chapters 12 and 13. Also included are appendices on matrix algebra and basic statistics along with useful statistical tables. The book also includes a diskette with data examples in ASCII files. ... Read more

Book Description

- The updated and expanded second edition of the internationally bestselling guide to principles and practices for undergraduate business and economics students taking mandatory economics statistics courses. - Features four new sections—on nonparametric tests, the Logit Model,the Probit Model, and causality tests—complete with new models and tests used in financial econometrics, and a new chapter on time series econometrics - Over 100,000 students enrolled annually - Includes numerous examples, completely worked problems, supplementary problems, and two full-length self-examinations ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It got me through Econometrics
This was an extremely useful book for the understanding of Statistics and Econometrics. Each topic had examples to show how the formulas work. The computer chapter went over the programming in SAS, Excel, and Eviews for the problems in the book. Best of all, the problems had answers. This is a must-have for beginning statistics and econometrics since it starts from scratch, and for theory students in search of an application. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the most up-to-date and accessible guide to one of the fastest growing areas in financial analysis by two of the most accomplished young econometricians in Europe. This classroom-tested advanced undergraduate and graduate textbook provides an in-depth treatment of recently developed nonlinear models, including regime-switching and artificial neural networks, and applies them todescribing and forecasting financial asset returns and volatility. It uses a wide range of financial data, drawn from sources including the markets of Tokyo, London and Frankfurt. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

nice coverage if non-linear time series
Like his other books, Franses provides an nice applied treatment of non-linear time series models that are in this case applicable to finance. It includes extensive coverage of regime switching models. It includes data drawn from several financial markets including Tokyo, London and Frankfurt.

A Long-Awaited Update To Granger and Terasvirta's Book .
The major distinction of the book from Granger&Terasvirta's earlier work is its focus on financial applications of regime switching (RS) models and the author's separate treatment of RS in returns(means) and volatilities(variances) by putting them in different chapters. Another welcome feature is the availability of accompanying procedures in Gauss downloadable from the author's website. I would have expected a lengthier treatment of Markov RS models but I guess either the authors leave this to Tsay's new book or quote Hamilton as classical reference source.

A Long Awaited Update To Granger and Temasvirta's Book
The major distinction of the book from Granger&Terasvirta's earlier work is its focus on financial applications of regime switching (RS) models and the author's strategy of separate treatment of RS of returns(means) and volatilities(variances) by putting them in different chapters. Another wellcome feature is the availability of accompanying procedures in Gauss downloadable from the author's website. I would have expected a lengthier treatment of Markov RS models but I guess either the authors leave this to Tsay's new book or quote Hamilton as classical reference source.

An excellent, up-to-date guide of finance non-linear models
If you are interested in what's up nowadays in the finance modeling, you should have this book. It's a review of some of the more recent, important and promising works of the field. Advanced undergraduate students and graduate students will probably understand the book (although I recommend it mostly for people interested in the field). If you want an easy introduction of most of the topics (but pretty older), then, grab Walter Enders book or, the more complicated, but also more complete book of James D. Hamilton. Reading this manual is easy because it's clear and its style is not boring. If you really love finance econometrics, you'll find this book fun to read. The fields covered by the authors are: 1.-Linear models (pretty brief), unit roots, seasonality and aberrant observations; 2.-Regime-switching models for returns such as TAR (Threshold Autoregressive), SETAR,...; 3.-Regime switching models for volatility (and here you'll have the entire family of ARCH models, with its youngest cousins such as GARCH QGARCH, LSTGARCH, VS-GARCH); 4.-Artificial Neural Network for returns. I'm particularly interested in GARCH-type models, and I can tell this part is particularly well done. At the end of the chapter there is a very illuminating empirical comparison between the models. I cannot say if the "artificial neural networks" is a good chapter since I'm not an expert, but the least I can say is that it's pretty understandable (although quite challenging for an ignorant like myself).

A timely survey on an important area
The title of this book caught my attention immediately and it actually contains more interesting topics than I thought. After I bought a copy through Amazon and have a closer read, I'm not disapointed by the two authors' writing, which is probably partially based on the second author's PhD dissertation, and so it is a little narrow-focused. But as the authors stated, they want to produce a book which deals with nonlinear techniques as opposed to Mills's mostly linear methods in fiance time series. They have delivered. With hot topics such as regime switching, ARCH models, and neural network applications in finance, I'm sure this book will find a lot of interested readers and will be a key reference in nonlinear empirical finance. ... Read more

Book Description

Students in both the natural and social sciences often seek regression models to explain the frequency of events, such as visits to a doctor, auto accidents or job hiring. This analysis provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of models and methods to interpret such data.The authors combine theory and practice to make sophisticated methods of analysis accessible to practitioners working with widely different types of data and software.The treatment will be useful to researchers in areas such as applied statistics, econometrics, operations research, actuarial studies, demography, biostatistics, and quantitatively-oriented sociology and political science. The book may be used as a reference work on count models or by students seeking an authoritative overview.The analysis is complemented by template programs available on the Internet through the authors' homepages. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

authoritative and current treatment of count data
This is a very thorough and authoritative treatment of regression methods for analyzing count data. It is very current and covers many topics not commonly found in books on point processes. Economic applications are emphasized but the broader applicability of the methods is eluded to.

The authors intent is for this book to be read by researchers, graduate students and practitioners in the many fields that make use of count data. Chapter 1 introduces count data, the Poiss