Variate

Categories: Economics,

In contradistinction to a variable, a variate is a quantity which may take any of the values of a specified set with a specified relative frequency or probability. The variate is therefore often known as a random variable. It is to regarded as defined, not merely by a set of permissible values like an ordinary mathematical variable, but by an associated frequency (probability) function expressing how often those values appear in the situation under discussion.