We conduct an update of the ranking of economic journals by Kalaitzidakis, Mamuneas and Stengos (2003). However, our present study differs methodologically from that earlier study in an important dimension. We use a rolling window of years between 2003 and 2008, for each year counting the number...

In this paper we examine the effect of pollution, as measured by CO2 emissions, on economic growth among a set of OECD countries during the period 1981-1998. We examine the relationship between total factor productivity (TFP) growth and pollution using a semiparametric smooth coefficient model...

The proposed tests are derived from maximizing the differential entropy subject to moment constraints. By exploiting the equivalence between the Maximum Entropy and Maximum Likelihood estimates of the general exponential family, we can use the conventional Likelihood Ratio, Wald and Lagrange...

This paper introduces the structural threshold regression model that allows for an endogeneous threshold variable as well as for endogenous regressors. This model provides a parsimonious way of modeling nonlinearities and has many potential applications in economics and finance. Our framework...

The forecast combination puzzle refers to the finding that a simple average forecast combination outperforms more sophisticated weighting schemes and/or the best individual model. The paper derives optimal (worst) forecast combinations based on stochastic dominance (SD) analysis with...

We consider a weighting scheme that yields the best-case scenario measurement of the Human Development Index (HDI) using an approach that relies on consistent tests for stochastic dominance efficiency (SDE). We compare a given hybrid composite index such as the official equally-weighted HDI to...

A weighting scheme is proposed to construct a new index of environmental quality based on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for different countries using an approach that relies on consistent tests for stochastic dominance (SD) efficiency. The benchmark is an index that is based on the average...

This paper empirically examines the joint pricing decision of products in a firm's product line. When products are distinguished by a vertical characteristic, those products with higher values of that characteristic will command higher prices. We investigate whether, holding the value of the...

This paper examines the effect of FDI on the process of economic growth by allowing the impact to differ both across each country and also across each time period. We apply non-parametric techniques taking into account the previously documented nonlinear effects of initial income and human...

This paper extends the simple threshold regression framework of Hansen (2000) and Caner and Hansen (2004) to allow for endogeneity of the threshold variable. We develop a concentrated two-stage least squares (C2SLS) estimator of the threshold parameter that is based on an inverse Mills ratio...