Statistical Inference

Deduction is the process whereby we pass from a general statement to a particular case: the reverse procedure, from the particular to the general, is variously called induction, or inference. Statistical inference is ordinarily understood to involve repetition or averaging, as when an inference is made about a population on the basis of a sample drawn from it. Economic facts are typically established by means of statistical inference. Economists construct a model of the world and deduce from it implications for the real world. These are checked against the available data, leading to some degree of support for the model. Statistical inference is concerned with how this support should be calculated. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.