Consistent estimation of zero-inflated count models

Applications of zero-inflated count data models have proliferated in health economics. However, zero-inflated Poisson or zero-inflated negative binomial maximum likelihood estimators are not robust to misspecification. This paper proposes Poisson quasi-likelihood estimators as an alternative. These estimators are consistent in the presence of excess zeros without having to specify the full distribution. The advantages of the Poisson quasi-likelihood approach are illustrated in a series of Monte Carlo simulations and in an application to the demand for health services.