--%>
Assignment Help - homework help

What is Imperfect data

Imperfect data: Most studies start with imperfect data. Few datasets involve the entire population of interest.

Typically, the data has been gathered by others for specific purposes, and as such may have built in biases or representational problems. As a consumer of analytical research, you should be looking for whether the authors properly describe the source of their data and any connected limitations imposed by that source. Surveys of populations will frequently report their confidence intervals. At either the national level or at the economy wide or sectoral level of analysis, data often has relatively small confidence intervals across space and over time.

As the data is subdivided to represent subsets of the source population (e.g., the Labour Force Survey unemployment rate in manufacturing in Saskatchewan vs. the unemployment rate for Canada as a whole), the confidence intervals will widen significantly. The level of confidence may widen to the point where differences of ± 10% to 20% may not be statistically significant. Authors should carefully consider the provenance and reliability of their data.

A second problem is that quite often authors report that they have “cleaned” a dataset – e.g., dropped outliers in panel data or lopped off tips or tails of longitudinal data. Any time you hear this, your antennae should go up. Cleaning data should be done very carefully and any changes in data should be fully discussed and analyzed, rather than simply accepted.

   Related Questions in Microeconomics

  • Q : Transactions increment and moves in

    Transactions increase and demand prices move below supply prices while a good turns into: (w) subsidized by the government. (x) subject to a high sales tax. (y) more technologically advanced. (z) a complementary by pr

    		•
  • Q : Determine elasticity of supply when

    When a $5 price hike raises the number of tanks of dehydrated water supplied into this market from point a to point b, there elasticity of supply is: (w) 4.5. (x) 3.0. (y) 1.5. (z) 0.5.

    Q : Statistical perspective of Inferior

    On an average, American families with more income tend to contain fewer children than families with less income. This fact recommends that, at least from a purely statistical perspective, the American children are: (1) Inferior goods. (2) Substitute goods for the cats

    		•
  • Q : Maximizes total revenue by a monopolist

    A monopolist maximizes total revenue through producing where is: (w) marginal revenue = marginal cost [MR = MC]. (x) marginal revenue = 0. (y) demand is elastic. (z) demand is inelastic. How can I solve my

  • Q : Labor Unions and Inflation Even

    Even although less than 12 percent of labor in the U.S. is unionized, numerous argue that unions are the primary cause of inflation as union wage hikes: (i) Cause unemployment that is inflationary. (ii) Frequently serve as the goals in recognizing non-union wage. (iii

    		•
  • Q : Inferior Goods used in American family

    The most probable of the following to be an inferior good for most of the American families who buy some of each of such products would be: (i) Spam, that is a canned meat product. (ii) Plastic surgery. (iii) Concert tickets. (iv) Gasoline. (v) College textbooks.

    		•
  • Q : Maximizes profits when price equal to

    A purely competitive firm will turn out where P = MC since this: (w) is good for society. (x) is all which is permitted through law. (y) maximizes profits. (z) permits price adjustment although not quantity adjustment.

    Q : Prohibition in Economic Profit Economic

    Economic profits are not: (1) a surplus of revenues over opportunity costs. (2) quite similar to pure economic rents from society’s viewpoint. (3) zero in a purely competitive economy along with no uncertainty and zero transaction costs. (4) dif

    		•
  • Q : Income Distribution and Satisfaction

    Some researchers have determined that citizens of some prosperous countries [for example, Japan] explain themselves as “happy” far less frequently, onto average, than citizens of a few poorer nations [for example, Indonesia]. Nevertheless, almost all studi

    		•
  • Q : Saving and the Supply by Interest Rate

    When the preference for current consumption over future consumption strengthens, in that case the: (w) interest rate rises. (x) interest rate falls. (y) present value of future income rises. (z) interest rate remains the same. How

    		•