Identification And Inference For Econometric Models

This 2005 volume contains the papers presented in honor of the lifelong achievements of Thomas J. Rothenberg on the occasion of his retirement. The authors of the chapters include many of the leading econometricians of our day, and the chapters address topics of current research significance in econometric theory. The chapters cover four themes: identification and efficient estimation in econometrics, asymptotic approximations to the distributions of econometric estimators and tests, inference involving potentially nonstationary time series, such as processes that might have a unit autoregressive root, and nonparametric and semiparametric inference. Several of the chapters provide overviews and treatments of basic conceptual issues, while others advance our understanding of the properties of existing econometric procedures and/or propose others. Specific topics include identification in nonlinear models, inference with weak instruments, tests for nonstationary in time series and panel data, generalized empirical likelihood estimation, and the bootstrap.

This 2005 collection pushed forward the research frontier in four areas of theoretical econometrics.

Economic Modeling and Inference takes econometrics to a new level by demonstrating how to combine modern economic theory with the latest statistical inference methods to get the most out of economic data. This graduate-level textbook draws applications from both microeconomics and macroeconomics, paying special attention to financial and labor economics, with an emphasis throughout on what observations can tell us about stochastic dynamic models of rational optimizing behavior and equilibrium. Bent Jesper Christensen and Nicholas Kiefer show how parameters often thought estimable in applications are not identified even in simple dynamic programming models, and they investigate the roles of extensions, including measurement error, imperfect control, and random utility shocks for inference. When all implications of optimization and equilibrium are imposed in the empirical procedures, the resulting estimation problems are often nonstandard, with the estimators exhibiting nonregular asymptotic behavior such as short-ranked covariance, superconsistency, and non-Gaussianity. Christensen and Kiefer explore these properties in detail, covering areas including job search models of the labor market, asset pricing, option pricing, marketing, and retirement planning. Ideal for researchers and practitioners as well as students, Economic Modeling and Inference uses real-world data to illustrate how to derive the best results using a combination of theory and cutting-edge econometric techniques. Covers identification and estimation of dynamic programming models Treats sources of error--measurement error, random utility, and imperfect control Features financial applications including asset pricing, option pricing, and optimal hedging Describes labor applications including job search, equilibrium search, and retirement Illustrates the wide applicability of the approach using micro, macro, and marketing examples

Methods for Estimation and Inference in Modern Econometrics provides a comprehensive introduction to a wide range of emerging topics, such as generalized empirical likelihood estimation and alternative asymptotics under drifting parameterizations, which have not been discussed in detail outside of highly technical research papers. The book also add

Presents the main statistical tools of econometrics, focusing specifically on modern econometric methodology. The authors unify the approach by using a small number of estimation techniques, mainly generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation and kernel smoothing. The choice of GMM is explained by its relevance in structural econometrics and its preeminent position in econometrics overall. Split into four parts, Part I explains general methods. Part II studies statistical models that are best suited for microeconomic data. Part III deals with dynamic models that are designed for macroeconomic and financial applications. In Part IV the authors synthesize a set of problems that are specific to statistical methods in structural econometrics, namely identification and over-identification, simultaneity, and unobservability. Many theoretical examples illustrate the discussion and can be treated as application exercises. Nobel Laureate James A. Heckman offers a foreword to the work.

Methods for Estimation and Inference in Modern Econometrics provides a comprehensive introduction to a wide range of emerging topics, such as generalized empirical likelihood estimation and alternative asymptotics under drifting parameterizations, which have not been discussed in detail outside of highly technical research papers. The book also addresses several problems often arising in the analysis of economic data, including weak identification, model misspecification, and possible nonstationarity. The book’s appendix provides a review of some basic concepts and results from linear algebra, probability theory, and statistics that are used throughout the book. Topics covered include: Well-established nonparametric and parametric approaches to estimation and conventional (asymptotic and bootstrap) frameworks for statistical inference Estimation of models based on moment restrictions implied by economic theory, including various method-of-moments estimators for unconditional and conditional moment restriction models, and asymptotic theory for correctly specified and misspecified models Non-conventional asymptotic tools that lead to improved finite sample inference, such as higher-order asymptotic analysis that allows for more accurate approximations via various asymptotic expansions, and asymptotic approximations based on drifting parameter sequences Offering a unified approach to studying econometric problems, Methods for Estimation and Inference in Modern Econometrics links most of the existing estimation and inference methods in a general framework to help readers synthesize all aspects of modern econometric theory. Various theoretical exercises and suggested solutions are included to facilitate understanding.