time-reversal test

time-reversal test

[′tīm ri‚vər·səl ‚test] (statistics) A test used with index numbers that is satisfied when the new index is the reciprocal of the original index if the functions of the base period and given period are interchanged; the advantage of index numbers meeting the criteria of the test is that a symmetric comparison of the two periods is obtained and the results are consistent whether one or the other period is used as a base.