Initial Publication Date: April 12, 2016
What should the student get out of this module?
After completing this module, a student should be able to:
- Understand the difference between variables and parameters.
- Understand the importance of variables and parameters in the context of Modeling
- Recognize variables and parameters that are used in microeconomics and macroeconomics.
What we don't include on this page
This module does not illustrate the use of variables and parameters in the context of regression analysis.
Why is it difficult for students?
Understanding variables and parameters is difficult for students for two reasons.
- Many students are unfamiliar with the notions of modeling and data collection and summary information.
- Students may find it difficult to understand which pieces of information should be expected to vary over a given group (variables) and which pieces of information comprise summary information about the group or relationships between variables within the group (parameters).