We propose a novel statistic to test the rank of a matrix. The rank statistic overcomes deficiencies of existing rank statistics, like: necessity of a Kronecker covariance matrix for the canonical correlation rank statistic of Anderson (1951), sensitivity to the ordering of the variables for the...

In this paper, I examine the properties of the class of generalized empirical likelihood estimators of moment-condition models. These nonparametric likelihood estimators satisfy exactly the moment conditions and automatically remove any bias due to a lack of centering. Moreover, the bias of the...

Adaptive radial-based direction sampling (ARDS) algorithms are specified for Bayesian analysis of models with nonelliptical, possibly, multimodal target distributions. A key step is a radial-based transformation to directions and distances. After the transformations a Metropolis-Hastings method...

Likelihoods and posteriors of instrumental variable regression models with strong endogeneity and/or weak instruments may exhibit rather non-elliptical contours in the parameter space. This may seriously affect inference based on Bayesian credible sets. When approximating such contours using...

The performance of Monte Carlo integration methods like importance sampling or Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedures greatly depends on the choice of the importance or candidate density. Usually, such a density has to be "close" to the target density in order to yield numerically accurate results...

Likelihoods and posteriors of econometric models with strong endogeneity and weak instruments may exhibit rather non-elliptical contours in the parameter space. This feature also holds for cointegration models when near non-stationarity occurs and determining the number of cointegrating...

Simulation has become a standard tool in statistics because it may be the only tool available for analysing some classes of probabilistic models. We review in this paper simulation tools that have been specifically derived to address statistical challenges and, in particular, recent advances in...

Many authors have considered the problem of estimating a covariance matrix in small samples. In this framework the sample covariance matrix is not robust, the solution is to impose some ad hoc structure on the covariance matrix to force it to be well-conditioned. This method is known as...

Since its introduction in the early 90's, the idea of using importance sampling (IS) with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) has found many applications. This paper examines problems associated with its application to repeated evaluation of related posterior distributions with a particular focus on...

In recent years multivariate models for asset returns have received much attention, in particular this is the case for models with time varying volatility. In this paper we consider models of this class and examine their potential when it comes to option pricing. Specifically, we derive the risk...