The paper investigates maternity leave behavior in West Germany for females being employed between 1995 and 2006 using data from the German Socio Economic Panel. The observational study focuses on the investigation of individual and family-related covariate effects on the duration of maternity...

The paper investigates maternity leave behavior in West Germany for females being employed between 1995 and 2006 using data from the German Socio Economic Panel. The observational study focuses on the investigation of individual and family-related covariate effects on the duration of maternity...

This paper shows that there are severe measurement errors regarding the occupational affiliations in the German Socio-Economic Panel. These errors are traced back to the survey structure: in years where occupational information is gathered from the entire employed population instead of only from...

This paper shows that there are severe measurement errors regarding the occupational affiliations in the German Socio-Economic Panel. These errors are traced back to the survey structure: in years where occupational information is gathered from the entire employed population instead of only from...

This paper considers a general model specification test for nonlinear multivariate cointegrating regressions where the regressor consists of a univariate integrated time series and a vector of stationary time series. The regressors and the errors are generated from the same innovations, so that...

In this paper, we consider some identification, estimation and specification problems in a class of semiparametric time series models. Existing studies for the stationary time series case have been reviewed and discussed. We also consider the case where new studies for the integrated...

Short-term load forecasting is an essential instrument in power system planning, operation and control. Many operating decisions are based on load forecasts, such as dispatch scheduling of generating capacity, reliability analysis, and maintenance planning for the generators. Overestimation of...

Long-term electricity demand forecasting plays an important role in planning for future generation facilities and transmission augmentation. In a long term context, planners must adopt a probabilistic view of potential peak demand levels, therefore density forecasts (providing estimates of the...

After a summary of the main achievements in microfinance, the thesis provides an overview of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries between 2000 and 2009. A thorough study of microfinance in sub-Saharan Africa is also proposed. It serves as a prelude to the econometric analysis...