This paper uses multilevel factor models to characterize within- and between-block variations as well as idiosyncratic noise in large dynamic panels. Block-level shocks are distinguished from genuinely common shocks, and the estimated block-level factors are easy to interpret. The framework...

This article predicts the relative performance of hedge fund investment styles using time-varying conditional stochastic dominance tests. These tests allow for the construction of dynamic trading strategies based on nonparametric density forecasts of hedge fund returns. During the recent...

In the first part the history of the ideas of the Frankfurt School of statistics is presented. In the second part the function of statistics within the process of gaining empirical knowledge by economic and social research is systematically analysed. An essential is the distinction between the...

This chapter uses the marginal treatment effect (MTE) to unify and organize the econometric literature on the evaluation of social programs. The marginal treatment effect is a choice-theoretic parameter that can be interpreted as a willingness to pay parameter for persons at a margin of...

Causal inference is of central interests in many empirical applications yet often challenging because of the presence of endogenous regressors. The classical approach to the problem requires using instrumental variables that must satisfy the stringent condition of exclusion restriction. At the...

This chapter provides an overview of the methodological and practical issues that arise when estimating causal relationships that are of interest to labor economists. The subject matter includes identification, data collection, and measurement problems. Four identification strategies are...

This paper examines the econometric causal model and the interpretation of empirical evidence based on thought experiments that was developed by Ragnar Frisch and Trygve Haavelmo. We compare the econometric causal model with two currently popular causal frameworks: the Neyman-Rubin causal model...