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Bayesian Inference

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
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Abstract

Bayesian inference is a mode of inductive reasoning that has been used in many sciences, including economics. Bayesian inference procedures are available to evaluate economic hypotheses and models, to estimate values of economic parameters and to predict as yet unobserved values of variables. In addition, Bayesian inference procedures are useful in solving many decision problems including economic control and policy problems, firms’ and consumers’ stochastic optimization problems, portfolio problems, experimental design problems, etc. Many examples of these uses of Bayesian inference procedures are provided in Jeffreys (1967), De Groot (1970), Zellner (1971), Box and Tiao (1973), Leamer (1978), Boyer and Kihlstrom (1984), and Berger (1985).

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Zellner, A. (2018). Bayesian Inference. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_324

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