Extremum estimation is typically an ad hoc semi-parametric estimation procedure which is only justified on the basis of the asymptotic properties of the estimators. For a fixed finite data set, consider a large number of investigations using different extremum estimators to estimate the same...

Islamic banking is a growing phenomenon which came into existence to satisfy the financial needs of devout Muslims who observe the prohibition of interest-based transactions. Many economists have studied the macroeconomic properties of this institution in the framework of an isolated and ideal...

The EC (Estimation-Classification) estimator, and its companion EC-algorithm, were introduced in El- Gamal and Grether (1995), and their properties further analyzed in El-Gamal and Grether (1996). The purpose of EC estimation is to uncover heterogeneity in panel data models in a manner which is...

We propose a set of algorithms for testing the ergodicity of empirical time series, without reliance on a specific parametric framework. It is shown that the resulting test asymptotically obtains the correct size for stationary and nonstationary processes, and maximal power against non-ergodic...

A group of agents have claims on a resource, but there is not enough of it to honor all of the claims. How should it be divided? A group of agents decide to undertake a public project that they can jointly afford. How much should each of them contribute? This essay is an update of Thomson...

The purpose of this paper is to construct a model of exchange rate determination that is consistent with the stylized facts regarding the uncovered interest parity for short term and long term interest rates. This task is especially challenging because of the forward premium anomaly found for...

For non-atomic TU games nu satisfying suitable conditions, the core can be determined by computing appropriate derivatives of nu. Further, such computations yield one of two stark conclusions: either core(nu) is empty or it consists of a single measure that can be expressed explicitly in terms...

Currency crises that coincide with banking crises tend to share four elements. First, governments provide guarantees to domestic and foreign bank creditors. Second, banks do not hedge their exchange rate risk. Third, there is a lending boom before the crises. Finally, when the currency/banking...