Hi,

I want to perform a panel data regression analysis. I have a dataset of 40 countries for 15 years. I plotted my dependent variable and found that the dependent variable is not normally distributed. I know that one of the ways to achieve normality is by taking the natural log of the dependent variable. However, I wanted to ask if the variable actually needs to be normally distributed? Somehow I could not convince myself that it is absolutely necessary for the dependent variable to be normally distributed in a panel data. I would be thankful for any help and guidance on this!