In statistics we are often estimating parameters and then, using some hypothesis test, we can find out if we should either reject our null hypothesis or not. Now in these tests we almost always rely on some known distribution of a so-called test statistic. Let us...
Is OLS a thing of the past?
[latexpage] One of the most popular regression methods an econometrician learns is the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). It is a simple and elegant way of estimating parameters in linear regression. However, there is another technique to perform linear regression using...
The medical test paradox
[latexpage] Testing has been quite a significant subject during this pandemic. Around 30.000 people a day are being tested in the Netherlands alone, so it is quite important that such a test can accurately predict whether someone actually has the disease. However, an...
Reversion to mediocrity
Nowadays, research in many fields involves statistics. Whether it comes down to a government's decisions on measures fighting a pandemic or the Red Bull formula 1 racing team deciding on whether Verstappen should swap tires in the next lap, it sounds like a good idea...
A look at an economic application of the Lotka-Volterra equations
The Lotka-Volterra model is mostly referred to as the predator-prey model. This model is used to describe lots of commonly encountered ecological processes. One of the more famous ones is the rabbit and the fox model. This is a cyclical relation between the amount of...
Machine learning in financial markets
[latexpage] Data has become extremely valuable to many companies in the world. Huge data centres are being built to cope with the vast amount of it that is being transmitted every single second. Especially with the rise of AI and specifically machine learning, this...
Do storks deliver babies?
When you were still a little child, you were probably told that all babies were delivered by storks. Later, when you got older, you found out that this idea is total nonsense. However, imagine that you are still in doubt whether this idea is true, and to discover the...
Four frequently asked questions about Apple’s and Tesla’s stock split
Every now and then, in the news you hear a new term. For me that was the term ‘stock split’. Apple and Tesla both went through a so-called stock split last month, but what does this mean for the shareholders? And what about the companies themselves? In this short...
The secret recipe for making friends
It is the spring of 2021. A vaccine for Covid-19 has been distributed and life is getting back to normal. The weather is improving and it is the so-called first ‘Rokjesdag’. The perfect day to hit the terrace with your friends. You are enjoying a drink with your...
Why smart econometricians say stupid things
A lot of different opinions circulate through society about the ongoing corona crisis. One thinks that the government imposed ridiculous measures, another believes that the government is being far too lenient and maybe you feel that it is fine this way. Even among...
Mr. Pity vs. Nature
Mr. Pity was a very, very unlucky man. As a kid he had once accidentally stepped on a butterfly in the forest. But this was no ordinary butterfly! It was the most beautiful butterfly Nature had ever produced. Out of revenge, Nature cursed young Mr. Pity: "Whatever you...
Italië en haar roze bril
De afgelopen weken staan het Coronavirus en Italië centraal in het nieuws. Hierbij gaat het onder andere over de houdbaarheid van de schuld van Italië. Nederland neemt hier een harde houding in aan. In het artikel “Italiaans begrotingsbeleid is struisvogelpolitiek”...
The math behind the coronavirus
[latexpage] At the moment we live in a big crisis, the corona crisis. Already more than one million people over the world are infected and more than 60,000 people died. A lot of countries are having big outbreaks and the health care is having capacity problems. This...
Hoe een kleurenblinde jongen de allerbeste werd – Interview met Mats Valk
Het is een leuke party trick: het oplossen van een Rubik’s kubus, en dan het liefst zo snel mogelijk. Voor de 23-jarige Mats Valk, tweevoudig wereldrecordhouder en Europees kampioen speedcubing, is het echter wel meer dan dat. Wekelijks is hij urenlang bezig met het...
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