Gretl (short for GNU Regression, Econometrics, and Time-series Library) is the most widely used program in the world of econometrics. Econometrics is the branch of economics that uses mathematical and statistical models to make interpretations and predictions based on databases. Thanks to it, it's possible to measure the influence that one variable has on another or predict future data from past data, to give some examples.
With Gretl, you have practically everything you need to create models based on the data you enter. For example, you can calculate tons of estimates (least squares, maximum likelihood, etc.) or time series methods (ARIMA, GARCH, etc.). You can also program your own scripts.
When you create a model, you can choose a dependent variable to see how the rest of the variables affect it. For example, you can see if rental prices are affected by variables such as distance or surface area, and know exactly how much. For this purpose, Gretl offers lots of statistical values for interpreting the quality of a model.
Among them, you can see the coefficient of determination (R-squared) to know the proportion of the total variance expressed by the regression you've calculated. You can also figure out much more concrete or precise data, such as the Akaike, Schwarz, and Hannan-Quinn criteria.
In short, if you're going to perform an econometric data analysis, don't miss the chance to download Gretl.
