Frequently Asked Question

What is statsmodels?

statsmodels is a Python package that provides a collection of widely-used statistical models. While statsmodels historically has an econometrics-heavy user base, the package is designed to be useful to a large variety of statistical use cases. In comparison with other Python-based modelling tools, statsmodels focuses more heavily on the statistics and diagnostics underlying the models than having the most cutting-edge or predictive models.

What do endog and exog mean?

These are shorthand for endogenous and exogenous variables. You might be more comfortable with the common y and X notation in linear models. Sometimes the endogenous variable y is called a dependent variable. Likewise, sometimes the exogenous variables X are called the independent variables. You can read about this in greater detail at endog, exog, what’s that?

How does statsmodels handle missing data?

Missing data can be handled via the missing keyword argument. Every model takes this keyword. You can find more information in the docstring of statsmodels.base.Model.

Why won’t statsmodels build?

Remember that to build, you must have:

• The appropriate dependencies (numpy, pandas, scipy, Cython) installed

• A suitable C compiler

• A working python installation

Please review our installation instructions for details.

You might also try cleaning up your source directory by running:

pip uninstall statsmodels
python setup.py clean

And then attempting to re-compile. If you want to be more aggressive, you could also reset git to a prior version by:

git reset --hard
git clean -xdf
git checkout master
python setup.py clean

I’d like to contribute. Where do I start?

Check out our development pages for a guide on how to get involved. We accept Pull Requests on our GitHub page for bugfixes and topics germane to statistics and statistical modeling. In addition, usability and quality of life enhancements are greatly appreciated as well.

What if my question isn’t answered here?

You may find answers for questions that have not yet been added here on GitHub under the FAQ issues tag. If not, please ask your question on stackoverflow using the statsmodels tag or on the mailing list.