EViews provides you with specialized tools for working with stacked data that have a panel structure. You may have, for example, data for various individuals or countries that are stacked one on top of another.

The first step in working with stacked panel data is to describe the panel structure of your data: we term this step structuring the workfile. Once your workfile is structured as a panel workfile, you may take advantage of the EViews tools for working with panel data, and for estimating equation specifications using the panel structure.

The following discussion assumes that you have an understanding of the basics of panel data. “Panel Data” provides background on the characteristics of panel structured data.

We first review briefly the process of applying a panel structure to a workfile. The remainder of the discussion focuses on the basics working with data in a panel workfile. “Panel Estimation” outlines the features of equation estimation in a panel workfile.