Panel Data

Panel data refers to a type of data that combines both cross-sectional and time series data. This means it tracks the same subjects—like individuals, firms, or countries—over multiple time periods. For example, if we collected information about a group of people’s incomes over several years, that data would be considered panel data. It allows researchers to analyze changes over time while controlling for differences between subjects, providing deeper insights into trends and behaviors than looking at either cross-sectional data (one point in time) or time series data (one subject over time) alone.