In this paper we analyze GMM estimators for time series models as advocated by Hayashi and Sims, and Hansen and Singleton. It is well known that these estimators achieve efficiency bounds if the number of lagged observations in the instrument set goes to infinity. <br> A new version of the GMM...

Quantile regression (QR) methods fit a linear model for conditional quantiles, just as ordinary least squares (OLS) regression estimates a linear model for conditional means. An attractive feature of the OLS estimator is that it gives a minimum mean square error approximation to the conditional...

Two separate narratives have emerged in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. One interpretation speaks of private financial excess and the key role of the banking system in leveraging and deleveraging the economy. The other emphasizes the public sector balance sheet over the private and...

This paper unveils a new resource for macroeconomic research: a long-run dataset covering disaggregated bank credit for 17 advanced economies since 1870. The new data show that the share of mortgages on banks’ balance sheets doubled in the course of the 20th century, driven by a sharp rise of...

A covariance-stationary vector of variables has a Wold representation whose coefficients can be semi-parametrically estimated by local projections (Jordà, 2005). Substituting the Wold representations for variables in model expressions generates restrictions that can be used by the method of...

Is there a link between loose monetary conditions, credit growth, house price booms, and financial instability? This paper analyzes the role of interest rates and credit in driving house price booms and busts with data spanning 140 years of modern economic history in the advanced economies. We...

Instrumental Variables (IV) methods identify internally valid causal effects for individuals whose treatment status is manipulable by the instrument at hand. Inference for other populations inevitably requires some sort of homogeneity assumption. I develop a simple theoretical framework that...

We use admissions lotteries to estimate the effects of attendance at Boston’s charter high schools on college preparation, college attendance, and college choice. Charter attendance increases pass rates on the high-stakes exam required for high school graduation in Massachusetts, with...

An Instrumental Variables (IV) identication strategy that exploits statutory class size caps shows signficant achievement gains in smaller classes in Italian primary schools. Gains from small classes are driven mainly by schools in Southern Italy, suggesting a substantial return to class size...

An Instrumental Variables (IV) identication strategy that exploits statutory class size caps shows signficant achievement gains in smaller classes in Italian primary schools. Gains from small classes are driven mainly by schools in Southern Italy, suggesting a substantial return to class size...