This paper examines empirically the impact of reproductive externalities on fertility behaviour in one developing society - Kenya. We examine this issue by quantifying the effects of group membership on the number of children ever born. The focus of this study is the identification of structural...

There are two crucial conditions for cross-sectional aggregation of AR(1) parameters to produce long memory: 1) heterogeneity and 2) proximity to the unit root. We analyze role of moments, namely the mean and variance, of the distribution of the AR(1) coefficients in generating long memory. The...

Techniques for simulated maximum likelihood (SML) estimation, filtering, and assessing the fit of stochastic volatility models are examined. Both one- and two-factor models (with leverage effects) are considered. The techniques are computationally efficient, robust, straightforward to implement,...

Different criteria exist to define long memory behavior. The two most used relate to the asymptotic decay of the autocovariance function of a process, and to the shape of its spectral density. In the case of a long memory process, the asymptotic decay of the autocovariance function is...

The non-negativity constraint on nominal interest rates may have been a major factor behind a putative structural break in the effectiveness of monetary policy. To check for the existence of such a break without making prior assumptions about timing, and to enable comparison between pre- and...

The present paper applies the Markov switching model with the aim of checking two industrial production features of six major Brazilian states. Firstly, we try to determine the date of business cycles and, soon afterwards, we verify the existence or not of an unobservable component that is...

Implied volatility generated from observed option prices reflects market expectations of future volatility. This paper determines whether or not, implied volatilities, and hence market expectations, contain any genuinely forward looking information not already captured by historical information....

Researchers typically assume experimental subjects have rational expectations. If the object of the experiment is to learn the distibution of decision makers' types, then this amounts to assuming subjects' know the very thing the researcher wishes to learn. We propose a method of conducting...

In this paper, we present methods for deriving testable implication from models with multiple equilibria. Our framework includes many economic models with a one-dimensional endogenous variable---examples are macroeconomic growth models (Solow, 1956), partial equilibrium models, and games of...

Many macroeconomic models involve hybrid equations, in which some variables are a function of both their lags and their expected future value. The hybrid ``New Keynesian'' Phillips Curve is a prominent example. Estimates of such hybrid models have produced conflicting empirical results: Studies...