GCRI · Economic Development

Econometrics for development

Econometrics estimates economic relationships from data. In this field it measures how shocks transmit, how policies affect outcomes and how variables move together over time, with uncertainty and model assumptions stated.

01Register

Econometrics for development on the record.

Method recordSTEM method
  1. MethodEconometrics
  2. StewardEconomic Development
  3. Applied inEconomic Development
  4. Canonical pageSTEM Commons
02Application

What econometrics does here.

Econometrics applies statistical methods to economic data to estimate relationships, test theories and forecast. It provides empirical evidence on how shocks and policies affect economic outcomes. In economic development and development finance, econometric evidence estimates how disasters, pandemics and financial shocks affect output, employment and prices. It informs the economic case for risk reduction. The canonical description is on the STEM Commons.

Shock transmission models

Vector autoregressions and local projections estimate how commodity, financial and demand shocks affect output, inflation and public finances over time.

Panel analysis across countries

Panel methods compare countries over time to estimate relationships while controlling for fixed differences between them.

Nowcasting with alternative data

Night lights, mobile data and other high-frequency indicators are combined with published statistics to estimate current activity where data are lagged.

03Simulator

Stocks, flows, delays and a tipping threshold.

Two stocks, pressure and adaptive capacity, joined by a reinforcing growth loop, a delayed balancing response and damage when pressure outruns capacity; past the threshold the system can tip. Teaching model with stated illustrative values, not a prediction.

Controls

Growth of pressure
6.0% a year
Efficacy of capacity in reducing pressure
4.0% a year
Investment response to perceived pressure
20%
Perception delay
4.0 years
Tipping threshold of pressure
60 index
Amplification past the threshold
2.0 times
Years simulated
50 years

Readouts

Peak pressure
113 index
Capacity at the end
186 index
Years over the threshold
15.8 years
Numbers, methods and sources
YearPressureCapacityPerceived
020.050.020.0
423.344.921.2
827.242.224.0
1231.742.327.7
1636.845.532.2
2042.351.537.2
2447.960.342.6
2853.271.348.0
3257.884.353.1
3666.498.458.4
4082.7115.969.7
4497.8139.783.8
48109.1169.497.3

Methods

  1. System dynamics Forrester (1961), Industrial Dynamics, MIT Press; Sterman (2000), Business Dynamics
  2. Critical transitions and tipping points Scheffer and others (2009), Early-warning signals for critical transitions, Nature 461
  3. Causal loop diagram Sterman (2000), Business Dynamics, McGraw-Hill
  4. Uncertainty fan (parameter Monte Carlo) Spiegelhalter, Pearson and Short (2011), Visualising uncertainty about the future, Science 333
  5. One-at-a-time sensitivity (tornado) Saltelli and others (2008), Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer, Wiley

Data

No observed data enters this model: it runs on the teaching values set by the controls, to be replaced with a programme’s own evidence.

Stocks, flows, delays and a tipping threshold. Illustrative teaching model: it runs on the values set by the controls, not on measured data. Methods: System dynamics (Forrester (1961), Industrial Dynamics, MIT Press; Sterman (2000), Business Dynamics); Critical transitions and tipping points (Scheffer and others (2009), Early-warning signals for critical transitions, Nature 461); Causal loop diagram (Sterman (2000), Business Dynamics, McGraw-Hill).
04Data

What the method consumes.

Datasets and records used by econometrics on this platform, with the role each plays and the label its values carry. Sources are listed in the source register.

DataRoleLabel
Macroeconomic time seriesTransmissionPublished statistics
Cross-country panelsComparisonPublished statistics
High-frequency proxiesNowcastingOBSERVED
05Methods and evidence

How econometrics for development is modelled, measured and tested.

The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.

Sensitivity analysis

Which inputs move the result for econometrics for development most, one at a time across their stated ranges.

Hazard intensityExposure valueVulnerability curveCoupling strengthAdaptive capacityData resolutioninput at its low valueinput at its high value
Illustrative one-at-a-time sensitivity; a full analysis adds variance-based (Sobol) indices. Not results.
FAIR guiding principles · GO FAIR and FORCE11W3C PROV · World Wide Web ConsortiumGuidance on consistent treatment of uncertainties · IPCCCEOS Analysis Ready Data · Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
06Validation

How results are checked.

Models are assessed through specification tests, robustness checks and out-of-sample performance. Results are compared across datasets and methods.

CheckHow it is done
Specification robustnessResults are tested across model specifications and samples
Out-of-sample evaluationNowcasts are evaluated against later published data
Diagnostic testsModels are tested for autocorrelation, stability and other assumptions

Endogeneity, measurement error and structural change can bias estimates. Relationships may shift under extreme conditions.

08Stewardship

Who maintains the method.

Economic Development stewards econometrics for the Consortium and reviews how it is applied across platforms.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

What are the limits of econometrics in this field?
Endogeneity, measurement error and structural change can bias estimates. Relationships may shift under extreme conditions.
How are results checked?
Models are assessed through specification tests, robustness checks and out-of-sample performance. Results are compared across datasets and methods.
Are the values on this page real?
The data names, roles and checks are real descriptions of practice. The canvas shows a design of the method’s use, not a run; no result is reported here.
Where else is this method applied?
The canonical method page lists every platform that applies it.
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Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

GCRIEconomic DevelopmentCountry Systems Risk and ResilienceGlobal Systems Risk and Resilience
Economic Development

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