Peter Kennedy (economist)

Peter E. Kennedy
Born(1943-05-18)May 18, 1943
Toronto, Ontario
DiedAugust 30, 2010(2010-08-30) (aged 67)
NationalityCanadian
Academic career
FieldEconometrics
InstitutionSimon Fraser University
Alma materQueen's University (B.A.)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (Ph.D.)
Doctoral
advisor		Richard H. Day [de]
ContributionsA Guide to Econometrics
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

Peter E. Kennedy (1943–2010) was a Canadian economist who taught for many years at the Simon Fraser University. His most famous work was his noted textbook, A Guide to Econometrics. In this guide, and in a subsequent summary article, he produced Ten Commandments of Applied Econometrics. These are that Thou shalt:

  1. Use common sense and economic theory
  2. Ask the right question
  3. Know the context
  4. Inspect the data
  5. Not worship complexity
  6. Look long and hard at thy results
  7. Beware the costs of data mining
  8. Be willing to compromise
  9. Not confuse statistical significance with substance
  10. Confess in the presence of sensitivity.[1][2]

He was born in Toronto and grew up close by in Port Credit. He was educated at Queen's University, graduating in 1965, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his Ph.D. in 1968. He worked briefly at Cornell University in 1968 before moving to Simon Fraser University that same year. He remained at SFU for the next 43 years and was appointed an emeritus professor in 2008.[3]

  1. ^ Becker, W. (2011). "In Memory of Peter Kennedy (May 18, 1943–August 30, 2010)". Journal of Economic Education. 42 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1080/00220485.2011.536484. S2CID 143066011.
  2. ^ "Products – Foresight: The International Journal of Applied Forecasting" (PDF).
  3. ^ Schmitt, Nicolas (2011) Obituaries: Peter Kennedy 1943-2010, Canadian Economics Association, Newsletter, Volume 43 February 2011 (Accessed Feb 17th 2012)