Linear Approximations of Nonlinear Relationships by the Taylor's Series Expansion Revisited

Abner W. Womack and Jimmy L. Matthews

Journal of Agricultural Economics Research, 1972, vol. 24, issue 4, 12

Abstract: This paper examines the magnitude of error associated with linear approximations of nonlinear variables based on Taylor's Series. Little attention has been given to the error term in previous empirical studies. This paper presents the mathematical technique for the single-variable and twovariable cases. Examples are given for each situation using agricultural time-series data. Characteristics of time-series data are sometimes crucial in the selection of an evaluation point for minimum error. The importance of selecting evaluation points is illustrated for three categories of timeseries data : (1) smooth trends, (2) trends with substantial variation, and (3) oscillatory series.

Keywords: Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Research Methods/Statistical Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1972
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/147025/files/3Womack_24_4.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersja:147025

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.147025

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Agricultural Economics Research from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().