If a statistic is consistently larger than the parameter it estimates, then the statistic is a(n) estimator.
A)unbiased
B)consistent
C)inconsistent
D)biased

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A statistic that consistently overestimates or underestimates the parameter is said to be biased, so D is the best choice. A consistent estimator is one that gets closer to the true parameter as the sample size increases, so it is not applicable to this scenario. An unbiased estimator would have an expected value equal to the true parameter, so it is not relevant to this situation either.

If a Statistic Is Consistently Larger Than the Parameter It