Ta-Chung Liu's Exploratory Econometrics

This essay studies the contribution of Ta-Chung Liu to econometrics by focusing on the models and methods of Liu's econometric practices from the 1950s to the 1970s. We document his development of an exploratory econometric approach, a development he effected by experimenting with tools and elements in the model-building process and which led him finally to accept the recursive methodology represented by Herman Wold. We also discuss Liu's theoretical and empirical concerns for econometric models that spurred his involvement in a series of debates against the Cowles Commission approach in the 1960s and 1970s, and we discuss his legacy to contemporary econometrics.