Estimation

[MatildaB]

Hi,

I have a large dataset containing information of individuals. Is there any procedure in SAS that could help me create an estimate of how these people should "be", aka. according to their age, education etc, for example, how many children should they have?

I'd like to create an estimate of all the variable for each individual, so that I can compare their actual response to the estimated one.

/Matilda

[Rick_SAS · Accepted solution]

That's what statistical models do: they enable you to predict values and compare your model to reality.

Your example is a classic regression model: predict the number of children as model of age, education, etc. The number of children is a response variable (dependent variable) which is estimated from the data according to the independent variables (age, education).

You should read the Introduction to Statistical Modeling in the SAS/STAT documentation, and also the Introduction to Regression Modeling:

SAS/STAT(R) 13.1 User's Guide