Ch. 13 Difference Equations 1 First-Order Difference Equations Suppose we are given a dynamic equation relating the value y takes on at date t to another variables Wt and to the value y took in the previous period: where o is a constant. Equation(1)is a linear first-order difference equation a difference equation is an expression relating a variable yt to its previous values
Information content of a random variable Random variable x Outcome of a random experiment Discrete R V takes on values from a finite set of possible outcomes PMF: P(X=y)=Py) How much information is contained in the event X=y? Will the sun rise today Revealing the outcome of this experiment provides no information Will the Celtics win the NBa championship? Since this is unlikely, revealing yes provides more information than revealing Events that are less likely contain more information than likely events