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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Clustering And Polarization In The Distribution Of Output: A Multivariate Perspective, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2012

Clustering And Polarization In The Distribution Of Output: A Multivariate Perspective, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Nonparametric Kernel Regression With Multiple Predictors And Multiple Shape Constraints, Pang Du, Christopher Parmeter, Jeffrey Racine Dec 2012

Nonparametric Kernel Regression With Multiple Predictors And Multiple Shape Constraints, Pang Du, Christopher Parmeter, Jeffrey Racine

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


What Can We Learn From Benefit Transfer Errors? Evidence From 20 Years Of Research On Convergent Validity, Sapna Kaul, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope Dec 2012

What Can We Learn From Benefit Transfer Errors? Evidence From 20 Years Of Research On Convergent Validity, Sapna Kaul, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Due Diligence In Meta-Analysis To Support Benefit Transfer, Kevin Boyle, Christopher Parmeter, Brent Boehlert, Robert Paterson Dec 2012

Due Diligence In Meta-Analysis To Support Benefit Transfer, Kevin Boyle, Christopher Parmeter, Brent Boehlert, Robert Paterson

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Data-Driven Model Evaluation: A Test For Revealed Performance, Jeffrey Racine, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2012

Data-Driven Model Evaluation: A Test For Revealed Performance, Jeffrey Racine, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Regression And Inference Under Smoothness Restrictions, Christopher Parmeter, Kai Sun, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar Dec 2012

Regression And Inference Under Smoothness Restrictions, Christopher Parmeter, Kai Sun, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


A Simple Method To Visualize Results In Nonlinear Regression Models, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2011

A Simple Method To Visualize Results In Nonlinear Regression Models, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Gdp Clustering: A Reappraisal, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2011

Gdp Clustering: A Reappraisal, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


A Review Of The Bms Package For R, Shahram Amini, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2011

A Review Of The Bms Package For R, Shahram Amini, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

This paper describes the relative merits and attractiveness of the newest Bayesian model averaging package, BMS, available in the statistical software R to implement a Bayesian model averaging exercise. This package provides the user a wide range of customizable priors for conducting a BMA analysis, provides ample graphs to visualize results and offers several alternative model search mechanisms.


Normal Reference Bandwidths For The General Order, Multivariate Kernel Density Derivative Estimator, Christopher Parmeter, Daniel Hendseron Dec 2011

Normal Reference Bandwidths For The General Order, Multivariate Kernel Density Derivative Estimator, Christopher Parmeter, Daniel Hendseron

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Smooth Coefficient Estimation Of A Seemingly Unrelated Regression, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar, Qi Li, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2011

Smooth Coefficient Estimation Of A Seemingly Unrelated Regression, Daniel Henderson, Subal Kumbhakar, Qi Li, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Bayesian Estimation Approaches To First-Price Auctions, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter, Efthymios Tsionas Dec 2011

Bayesian Estimation Approaches To First-Price Auctions, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter, Efthymios Tsionas

Christopher F. Parmeter

This paper considers Bayesian estimation strategies for first-price auctions within the independent private value paradigm. We develop an ‘optimization’ error approach that allows for estimation of values assuming that observed bids differ from optimal bids. We further augment this approach by allowing systematic over or underbidding by bidders using ideas from the stochastic frontier literature. We perform a simulation study to showcase the appeal of the method and apply the techniques to timber auction data collected in British Columbia. Our results suggest that significant underbidding is present in the timber auctions.


Quasi-Experiments And Hedonic Property Value Methods, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope Dec 2011

Quasi-Experiments And Hedonic Property Value Methods, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope

Christopher F. Parmeter

There has recently been a dramatic increase in the number of papers that have combined quasi-experimental methods with hedonic property models. This is largely due to the concern that cross-sectional hedonic methods may be severely biased by omitted variables. While the empirical literature has developed extensively, there has not been a consistent treatment of the theory and methods of combining hedonic property models with quasi-experiments. The purpose of this chapter is to fill this void. An effort is made to provide background information on the traditional hedonic theory, the traditional cross-sectional hedonic methods as well as the newer quasi-experimental hedonic …


Empirical Implementation Of Nonparametric First-Price Auction Models, Daniel Henderson, John List, Daniel Millimet, Christopher Parmeter, Michael Price Dec 2011

Empirical Implementation Of Nonparametric First-Price Auction Models, Daniel Henderson, John List, Daniel Millimet, Christopher Parmeter, Michael Price

Christopher F. Parmeter

Although these estimators are popular in the literature, many key features necessary for proper implementation have yet to be uncovered. Here we provide several suggestions for nonparametric estimation of first-price auction models. Specifically, we show how to impose monotonicity of the equilibrium bidding strategy; a key property of structural auction models not guaranteed in standard nonparametric estimation. We further develop methods for automatic bandwidth selection. Finally, we discuss how to impose monotonicity in auctions with differing numbers of bidders, reserve prices, and auction-specific characteristics. Finite sample performance is examined using simulated data as well as experimental auction data.


Income Polarization, Convergence Tools And Mixture Analysis, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2011

Income Polarization, Convergence Tools And Mixture Analysis, Michele Battisti, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

Modeling the cross-country distribution of per capita using mixture analysis provides a natural platform for the recovery or detection of clubs of countries. Unfortunately, these mixture methods, when based on a strictly univariate approach are limiting towards one's ability to learn about the underlying process of the emergence of the clubs. This paper takes a fresh look at the sources contributing to the emergence of clubs in the distribution of cross-country output using bivariate and multivariate mixture analysis.


Bayesian Model Averaging In R, Shahram Amini, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2010

Bayesian Model Averaging In R, Shahram Amini, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

Bayesian model averaging has increasingly witnessed applications across an array of empirical contexts. However, the dearth of available statistical software which allows one to engage in a model averaging exercise is limited. It is common for consumers of these methods to develop their own code, which has obvious appeal. However, canned statistical software can ameliorate one’s own analysis if they are not intimately familiar with the nuances of computer coding. Moreover, many researchers would prefer user ready software to mitigate the inevitable time costs that arise when hard coding an econometric estimator. To that end, this paper describes the relative …


Economies Of Scope Of Lending And Mobilizing Deposits In Microfinance Institutions: A Semiparametric Analysis, Valentina Hartarska, Christopher Parmeter, Denis Nadolynak Dec 2010

Economies Of Scope Of Lending And Mobilizing Deposits In Microfinance Institutions: A Semiparametric Analysis, Valentina Hartarska, Christopher Parmeter, Denis Nadolynak

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Economies Of Scope For Microfinance: Differences Across Output Measures, Valentina Hartarska, Christopher Parmeter, Denis Nadolynak, Beibei Zhu Dec 2009

Economies Of Scope For Microfinance: Differences Across Output Measures, Valentina Hartarska, Christopher Parmeter, Denis Nadolynak, Beibei Zhu

Christopher F. Parmeter

In banking, scope economies of mobilizing deposits and lending are often estimated, while consideration of the same measures for microfinance institutions (MFI) is still in its infancy. An open issue remains regarding what characterizes an output of an MFI. Moreover, depending on the output used, do estimated scope economies differ? We use a novel data set for over 800 MFI across more than 70 countries to estimate economies of scope. Our findings suggest that statistical differences arise between estimates of scope economies. However, our qualitative findings indicate that both of these measures provide similar overviews of the landscape of scope …


Market Power, Eu Integration And Privatization: The Case Of Romania, Gabriel Asaftei, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2009

Market Power, Eu Integration And Privatization: The Case Of Romania, Gabriel Asaftei, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

This paper investigates the effects on pricing behavior of firms in a transition economy resulting from integration into the European Union’s Common Market and changes in ownership. We use a semiparametric model with a rich panel of manufacturing firms in Romania from 1995 to 2003 to estimate firm-level markups. We find that markups are higher in more concentrated industries and less exposed to foreign competition. Trade integration appears to generally increase competitive pressure on markups. Industries exposed to more international competition experience a larger change in markups following integration into the European Union’s Common Market. However, as the initial impact …


Which Hedonic Models Can We Trust To Recover The Marginal Willingness To Pay For Environmental Amenities?, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope Dec 2009

Which Hedonic Models Can We Trust To Recover The Marginal Willingness To Pay For Environmental Amenities?, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope

Christopher F. Parmeter

The hedonic property value model is among our foremost tools for evaluating the economic consequences of policies that target the supply of local public goods, environmental services, and urban amenities. We design a theoretically consistent and empirically realistic Monte Carlo study of whether omitted variables seriously undermine the method’s ability to accurately identify economic values. Our results suggest that large gains in accuracy can be realized by moving from the standard linear specifications for the price function to a more flexible framework that uses a combination of spatial fixed effects, quasi-experimental identification, and temporal controls for housing market adjustment


The Benefit Transfer Challenges, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope Dec 2009

The Benefit Transfer Challenges, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope

Christopher F. Parmeter

Presidential Executive Order 12,866 requires federal agencies to design “cost-effective” regulations and to assess “costs and benefits” of these regulations on the basis of “the best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, economic, and other information.” Benefit transfers are one economic approach used to estimate these benefits and costs, and the use of existing economic information to predict the effects of new policies is well established. However, advancing the practice of benefit transfers is crucial if economists are to play a role in developing federal policies. We review contributions to the benefit-transfer literature and present a unified conceptual framework to guide the …


Estimation Of Hedonic Price Functions With Incomplete Information, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2009

Estimation Of Hedonic Price Functions With Incomplete Information, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

Existence of persistent price dispersion suggests that some buyers find lower prices through search and information acquisition, while some sellers charge higher prices by gathering information on potential buyers. If buyers are not fully informed of the lowest price available in the market they end up paying a price higher than if they had full information. Similarly, if sellers are not fully informed about the highest price they could charge, they too suffer by receiving a price lower than had they had full information. This paper develops a hedonic price model that incorporates the effects of incomplete information on both …


Cross-Validated Bandwidths And Significance Testing, Christopher Parmeter, Zhiyuan Zheng, Patrick Mccann Dec 2008

Cross-Validated Bandwidths And Significance Testing, Christopher Parmeter, Zhiyuan Zheng, Patrick Mccann

Christopher F. Parmeter

The link between the magnitude of a bandwidth and the relevance of the corresponding covariate in a regression has recently garnered theoretical attention. Theory suggests that variables included erroneously in a regression will be automatically removed when bandwidths are selected via cross-validation procedure. However, the connections between the bandwidths of the variables that are smoothed away and the insights from these same variables when properly tested for statistical significance have not been previously studied. This paper proposes a variety of simulation exercises to examine the relative performance of both cross-validated bandwidths and individual and joint tests of significance. We focus …


The Effects Of Bargaining On Market Outcomes: Evidence From Buyer And Seller Specific Estimates, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2008

The Effects Of Bargaining On Market Outcomes: Evidence From Buyer And Seller Specific Estimates, Subal Kumbhakar, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

In this paper we examine wage dispersion in labor markets across currently employed workers. We argue that differences in the potential productivity of a match (typically assumed to be known in the previous literature) generates a surplus between the minimum wage the worker is willing to accept and the maximum wage the firm is willing to offer for the job. Existence of this surplus leads to wage dispersion due to negotiating over the amounts extracted by each agent. Our objective is to estimate the surplus extracted by each firm-worker pair and the effect of the net extracted surplus on the …


Imposing Economic Constraints On Nonparametric Regression: Survey, Implementation And Extensions, Daniel Henderson, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2008

Imposing Economic Constraints On Nonparametric Regression: Survey, Implementation And Extensions, Daniel Henderson, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

Economic conditions such as convexity, homogeneity, homotheticity, and monotonicity are all important assumptions or consequences of assumptions of economic functionals to be estimated. Recent research has seen a renewed interest in imposing constraints in nonparametric regression. We survey the available methods in the literature, discuss the challenges that present themselves when empirically implementing these methods, and extend an existing method to handle general nonlinear constraints. A heuristic discussion on the empirical implementation for methods that use sequential quadratic programming is provided for the reader, and simulated and empirical evidence on the distinction between constrained and unconstrained nonparametric regression surfaces is …


Necessary Conditions For Valid Benefit Transfers, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope Dec 2008

Necessary Conditions For Valid Benefit Transfers, Kevin Boyle, Nicolai Kuminoff, Christopher Parmeter, Jaren Pope

Christopher F. Parmeter

No abstract provided.


Modes, Weighted Modes, And Calibrated Modes: Evidence Of Clustering Using Modality Tests, Daniel Henderson, Christopher Parmeter, R. Russell Dec 2007

Modes, Weighted Modes, And Calibrated Modes: Evidence Of Clustering Using Modality Tests, Daniel Henderson, Christopher Parmeter, R. Russell

Christopher F. Parmeter

We apply recent results from the statistics literature to test for multimodality of worldwide distributions of several (unweighted and population-weighted) measures of labor productivity. Specifically, we employ Silverman (Bump) and Dip modality tests, calibrated to correct for their incorrect asymptotic levels. We show that test results are sensitive to the test statistic employed and to population weighting. But regardless of the statistical criterion used, multimodality is present throughout, or emerges during, our sample period (1960–2000). We also examine (a) movements of economies between modal clusters and (b) relationships between certain key development factors and multimodality of the productivity distribution.


Fertility And The Health Of Children: An Application Of A Nonparametric Conditional Late Estimator, Daniel Henderson, Daniel Millimet, Christopher Parmeter, Le Wang Dec 2007

Fertility And The Health Of Children: An Application Of A Nonparametric Conditional Late Estimator, Daniel Henderson, Daniel Millimet, Christopher Parmeter, Le Wang

Christopher F. Parmeter

Although the theoretical trade-off between the quantity and quality of children is well established, empirical evidence supporting such a causal relationship is limited. This chapter applies a recently developed nonparametric estimator of the conditional local average treatment effect to assess the sensitivity of the quantity-quality trade-off to functional form and parametric assumptions. Using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey and controlling for potential endogeneity of fertility, we find mixed evidence supporting the trade-off.


Heterogeneity In Smoker Preferences For Increased Efficacy Of Cessation Therapies, Robert Paterson, Kevin Boyle, Christopher Parmeter, James Neumann, Paul De Civita Dec 2007

Heterogeneity In Smoker Preferences For Increased Efficacy Of Cessation Therapies, Robert Paterson, Kevin Boyle, Christopher Parmeter, James Neumann, Paul De Civita

Christopher F. Parmeter

Promoting cessation is a cornerstone of tobacco control efforts by public-health agencies. Economic information to support cessation programs has generally emphasized cost-effectiveness or the impact of cigarette pricing and smoking restrictions on quit rates. In contrast, this study provides empirical estimates of smoker preferences for increased efficacy and other attributes of smoking cessation therapies (SCTs). Choice data were collected through a national survey of Canadian smokers. We find systematic preference heterogeneity for therapy types and SCT attributes between light and heavy smokers, as well as random heterogeneity using random parameters logit models. Preference heterogeneity is greatest between length of use …


The Effect Of Measurement Error On The Shape Of The World Distribution Of Income, Christopher Parmeter Dec 2007

The Effect Of Measurement Error On The Shape Of The World Distribution Of Income, Christopher Parmeter

Christopher F. Parmeter

This note examines the robustness that two modes exist in the world's density of per capita income. Our results suggest that this bimodal feature is robust and are arrived at using recently developed nonparametric deconvolution techniques.