Variables A variable contains a set of observations (numeric data). A common type of variable is a macroeconomic time series observed at equally spaced time intervals such as annual, quarterly or monthly. A variable could also contain cross-sectional data observed on individuals, households, industries or regions collected at one point in time. Variable names Each variable has a name assigned by the user. SHAZAM variable names may consist of letters and numbers and start with a letter. Variable names may be up to 8 characters long. What is a good variable name ? Textbooks in statistics and econometrics often talk about variables like Y and X1, X2, X3. These are general names that give no descriptive information. A sensible approach is to assign a variable name that is descriptive of the type of data. Example For the Theil textile data set SHAZAM variable names that may be appropriate to assign are: YEAR CONSUME INCOME PRICE Alternatively, the following variable names could be used for this data set: T V1 V2 V3 Notes Once a variable name has been set it must always be referred to by this name. For example, if a variable is assigned the name CONSUME it cannot be referred to as CONS or CNSM. If spelling errors are made then SHAZAM error messages will result. In general, upper case and lower case names are interchangeable. However, if you wish to distinguish upper and lower case variables and file names in SHAZAM then use the command: SET NOLCUC. [SHAZAM Guide home]