Question

Explain step by step the meaning, letters, symbols and use of Least Square Methods in Regression Analysis in statistics, econometris and economics.
Give a practical real life example and solve it step by step.
THE EXAMPLE YOU PRESENT IT IN BOOK FORMAT OR VERTICALLY FOR EASIER UNDERSTANDING WHEN READING

Answers

GPT-4o mini
### Understanding Least Squares Method in Regression Analysis

#### 1. Introduction to Regression Analysis
Regression analysis is a statistical technique used to understand the relationship between one dependent variable (often called the response variable) and one or more independent variables (predictors). The goal is to model the dependent variable as a function of the independent variables.

#### 2. The Least Squares Method
The Least Squares Method is a mathematical approach used to minimize the sum of the squares of the differences (residuals) between observed and predicted values. It estimates the coefficients of the regression line (or curve) that best fits the data points.

#### 3. Notation
- \( Y \): Dependent variable (response)
- \( X \): Independent variable (predictor)
- \( \beta_0 \): Intercept of the regression line
- \( \beta_1 \): Slope of the regression line
- \( \epsilon \): Error term (residuals)
- \( n \): Number of observations

#### 4. Regression Equation
The simple linear regression model can be expressed as:
\[
Y = \beta_0 + \beta_1 X + \epsilon
\]

#### 5. Objective of Least Squares
To find the estimates \( \hat{\beta_0} \) and \( \hat{\beta_1} \) that minimize the Sum of Squared Residuals (SSR):
\[
SSR = \sum_{i=1}^{n} (Y_i - \hat{Y}_i)^2
\]
Where \( \hat{Y}_i \) is the predicted value of Y for the i-th observation.

#### 6. Steps to Calculate Regression Coefficients
1. Calculate the means:
\[
\bar{Y} = \frac{1}{n} \sum Y_i
\]
\[
\bar{X} = \frac{1}{n} \sum X_i
\]
2. Compute the slope (\( \hat{\beta_1} \)):
\[
\hat{\beta_1} = \frac{\sum (X_i - \bar{X})(Y_i - \bar{Y})}{\sum (X_i - \bar{X})^2}
\]
3. Compute the intercept (\( \hat{\beta_0} \)):
\[
\hat{\beta_0} = \bar{Y} - \hat{\beta_1} \bar{X}
\]

#### 7. A Practical Example
**Scenario**: A store wants to understand the relationship between advertising spend (X) and sales revenue (Y).

**Data**:
| Advertising Spend (X) | Sales Revenue (Y) |
|-----------------------|-------------------|
| 100 | 200 |
| 150 | 250 |
| 200 | 300 |
| 250 | 350 |
| 300 | 400 |

1. **Calculate the means**:
\[
\bar{X} = \frac{100 + 150 + 200 + 250 + 300}{5} = 200
\]
\[
\bar{Y} = \frac{200 + 250 + 300 + 350 + 400}{5} = 300
\]

2. **Compute the slope (\( \hat{\beta_1} \))**:
- First, calculate the numerator and denominator of the slope formula:
\[
\sum (X_i - \bar{X})(Y_i - \bar{Y}) = (100-200)(200-300) + (150-200)(250-300) + (200-200)(300-300) + (250-200)(350-300) + (300-200)(400-300)
\]
\[
= (-100)(-100) + (-50)(-50) + 0 + (50)(50) + (100)(100) = 10000 + 2500 + 0 + 2500 + 10000 = 25000
\]

- Denominator:
\[
\sum (X_i - \bar{X})^2 = (100-200)^2 + (150-200)^2 + (200-200)^2 + (250-200)^2 + (300-200)^2
\]
\[
= 10000 + 2500 + 0 + 2500 + 10000 = 25000
\]

- Now calculate \( \hat{\beta_1} \):
\[
\hat{\beta_1} = \frac{25000}{25000} = 1
\]

3. **Compute the intercept (\( \hat{\beta_0} \))**:
\[
\hat{\beta_0} = \bar{Y} - \hat{\beta_1} \bar{X} = 300 - 1 \times 200 = 100
\]

So the regression equation becomes:
\[
\hat{Y} = 100 + 1X
\]

#### 8. Interpretation of Results
- The intercept (\( \hat{\beta_0} = 100 \)) indicates that if no money is spent on advertising (X=0), the predicted sales revenue would be \$100.
- The slope (\( \hat{\beta_1} = 1 \)) indicates that for each additional dollar spent on advertising, sales revenue increases by approximately \$1.

#### 9. Conclusion
The Least Squares Method provides a straightforward way to derive a linear relationship between variables, making it a fundamental technique in econometrics and statistics. In real-life applications, such as business forecasting, understanding this relationship can guide effective decision-making.