This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion on how the term ‘panel data’ is applied to a wide range of situations in econometrics. It describes the two main objectives of this volume: the analysis of econometric models with non-exogenous explanatory variables, and the problem of distinguishing empirically between dynamic responses and unobserved heterogeneity in panel data models. An overview of the three parts of this volume is presented.
Keywords: panel data, econometric models, dynamic modeling,