The Bias of the Least Squares Estimator of Variance, the Autocorrelation of the Regressor Matrix, and the Autocorrelation of Disturbances

The least squares estimator of disturbance variance in a regression model is biased under a serial correlation. Under the assumption of an AR(I), Theil(1971) crudely related the bias with the autocorrelation of the disturbances and the autocorrelation of the explanatory variable for a simple regression. In this paper we derive a relation which relates the bias with the autocorrelation of disturbances and the autocorrelation of explanatory variables for a multiple regression with improved precision.