While a good deal of research in simultaneous equation models has been conducted to examine the small sample properties of coefficient estimators there has not been a corresponding interest in the properties of estimators for the associated variances. In this paper we build on Kiviet and...

We propose two simple bias reduction procedures that apply to estimators in a general static simultaneous equation model and which are valid under reatively weak distributional assumptions for the errors. Standard jackknife estimators, as applied to 2SLS, may not reduce the bias of the exogenous...

Partially linear semiparametric models are advantageous to use in empirical studies of various economic problems due to a special feature that allows the parametric and nonparametric components to exist simultaneously in the model. However, systematic estimation procedures and methods have not...

Bootstrapping non-parametric models is a fairly complicated exercise which is associated with implicit assumptions or requirements that are not always obvious to the non-expert user. Bootstrap DEA is a significant development of the past decade; however, some of its assumptions and properties are...

Using Dutch data we empirically investigate how financing and innovation vary across firm characteristics. We find that when firms face financial constraints, debt financing and innovation choices are not independent of firm characteristics, and R&D slows down. In the absence of financial...

In Sub-Saharan Africa, high-skilled workers are 13 times more likely to migrate than low-skilled ones. This sheer number has fueled fears about “Brain Drain” as only 3% of the population obtains tertiary education. Although migration prospects might give incentives to invest in schooling, it...

The paper contributes to the growing global VAR (GVAR) literature by showing how global and national shocks can be identified within a GVAR framework. The usefulness of the proposed approach is illustrated in an application to the analysis of the interactions between public debt and real output...

Using the exogenous variability in intergovernmental transfers and hydrocarbon royalties, based on the fiscal regime that prevailed in Argentina from 1988 to 2003, we jointly estimate the effects that changes in these public revenues had on provincial public consumption and debt. When receiving...

We analyze the extent of the integrated control of the state over privatized firms during the post-privatization decade (1995-2005) in the Czech Republic. During this period the integrated control potential of the state resembled a corporate pyramid. While pyramidal control was not fully...

Understanding the reasons why individuals take risks, particularly unnecessary risks, remains an important question in economics. We provide the first evidence of a powerful connection between happiness and risk-avoidance. Using data on 300,000 Americans, we demonstrate that happier individuals...