Appendix: R C A - Q R
Appendix: R C A - Q R
Variables
Y = a + b X,
Where
- Y (the dependent variable) is said to be regressed on X
(the independent variable);
- a is the vertical intercept;
- b is the slope.
1
This part is based on Mica enciclopedie matematica (Mathematics at a Glance), Ed.
Tehnica, Bucuresti, 1975, 748-749, and Scherer, F.M., Industrial Market Structure and
Economic Performance, Chicago, 1980, 601-7.
A Workbook in International Trade
n n
1⎛ n n
⎞
∑ ( X i − X )(Yi − Y ) ∑
i =1
X Y
i i − ⎜ ∑
n ⎝ i =1
X i ∑ Yi ⎟
i =1 ⎠
i =1
b= n
= 2
1⎛ ⎞
∑(X
n n
− X )2
∑ Xi − ⎜∑ Xi ⎟
2
i
i =1 i =1 n ⎝ i =1 ⎠
a= Y-bX
Correlation
R2. The maximum possible value of r2 is 1.0, and the minimum possible
value is 0.
The unsquared correlation coefficient, r, can take on either positive or
negative values ranging from +1.0 to -1.0. A formula to calculate r is
given by
n
∑ ( X i − X )(Yi − Y )
i =1
r=
n n
∑ (X i − X )2 ∑ (Yi − Y ) 2
i =1 i =1
A negative correlation reveals that the variables under investigation vary
inversely, while the nearer the extremes of +1.0 or -1.0 the coefficient
comes, the stronger the correlation is said to be.
Statistical significance
The value estimated in the regression equation (“b”) can explain the
relationship with a certain degree of reliability. The standard error of
predicted values is given by
SSDR ( N − 2)
, where N is the number of observations in the
∑ ( X − X ) 2
sample.
The size of the computed slope coefficient in relation to that parameter
gives the t-ratio, which provides information – with reference to standard
statistical tables – about the probability of wrongly inferring the existence
of relationships that owe their appearance in data samples more to chance
than to some link of genuine economic significance. As a crude rule of
thumb, economists conclude that observed relationships are “statistically
significant” when a coefficient exceeds its standard error by two times or
more.
A Workbook in International Trade
Summary
A regression equation of the form
R2=0.862
reads as follows:
The intercept value of 4.99 predicts the Y level when both X1 and X2 are
zero. Y rises by 0.088 percentage points for every percentage point
increase in X1 and by 0.637 for every percentage point increase in X2.
The correlation coefficient R2 reveals the proportion of SSDM explained
by the independent variables. The values given in parentheses are the
standard errors of the regression coefficients. Both standard errors are
less than a third of the coefficient values (i.e. the t-ratios are above 3.0),
suggesting that X1 and X2 each have a statistically significant influence
on Y.