Traditionally, econometric research on social interaction effects has used fairly large social groups (schools, Census tracts, etc.). However, new data which describes the behavior of much smaller peer groups is becoming available. This paper analyzes the behavior of "small neighborhoods" in the...

Small firms often do not change their number of employees from year to year. This paper investigates the role of adjustment costs and indivisibility of labor in the employment stickiness of manufacturing firms with less than 75 employees. When small firms have to adjust employment in units of at...

In this paper we deal with the validation of an agent-based model and, in particular, with the technical validation process, that is to say all the set of test and methods used to analyze if the results of a simulation agree with reality. Today, thanks to some important studies, validation...

A dynamic Tobit model with Time-varying parameters is proposed for the daily reaction function of the Open Market Desk of the US Federal Reserve. Such a model offers a more realistic depiction of the Desk's behavior than those of past contributions in the literature as it allows for both...

Computing power now allows empirical researchers to use intensive computing estimation techniques with nonlinear panel-data models. Maximum Likelihood estimation is often cumbersome, if not analytically intractable, when dealing with such models. Even the simple calculation of the likelihood...

Advances in computing power allow the empirical researcher to use intensive computional techniques to solve and estimate nonlinear panel-data models, specifically those arising from nonlinear panel data such as Probit and Tobit models. In these cases, maximum-likelihood estimation can be...

We study the role of information sources on innovation in a two stage sequential probit model that can be used to analyze survey data in which questions are asked sequentially. Firms can fall into three catagories: (i) they do not innovation; (ii) they introduce a radical innovation on their...

Qualitative behaviours of small firms are explored to forecast criticalities in the Italian credit market. We build up an evaluation process to integrate quantitative rating practices. Research method: Relevant qualitative factors to estimate the credit risk are empirically investigated by...