This book is designed to provide beginning graduate stu dents and advanced undergraduates with a rigorous and accessible foundation in the principles of probability and mathematical statistics underlying statis tical inference in the fields of business and economics. The book assumes no prior knowledge of probability or statistics and effectively builds the subject "from the ground up." Students who complete their studies of the topics in this text will have acquired the necessary background to achieve a mature and enduring understanding of statistical and econometric methods of inference and will be well equipped to read and comprehend graduate-level economet rics texts. Additionally, this text serves as an effective bridge to more advanced study of both mathematical statistics and econometric theory and methods. The book will also be of interest to researchers who desire a decidedly business and economics-oriented treatment of the subject in terms of its topics, depth, breadth, examples, and problems.
