This paper discusses how specification of probabilistic models for multistate duration data generated by individual choices should be justified on a priori theoretical grounds. Preferences are assumed represented by random utilities, where utilities are viewed as random also to the agent...

We focus on the role that the transmission of information between a multilateral (e.g., the IMF) and a country has for optimal (conditional) reform design. The main result is that the informational advantage of the country must be strictly greater than the advantage of the multilateral in order...

This paper examines panel data modelling with latent variables in analyzing log-linear relations between inputs and output of firms. Our particular focus is on (i) the "increasing returns to scale puzzle" for labour input and (ii) the GMM estimation in the context of errors-in-variables and...

General Method of Moments (GMM) estimation of a linear one-equation model using panel data with errors-in-variables is considered. To eliminate fixed individual heterogeneity, the equation is differenced across one or more than one periods and estimated by means of instrumental variables. With...

This paper estimates price and GDP/income elasticities of several energy goods in OECD countries over 1978 to 1999 by applying the one-step GMM estimation method suggested by Arellano and Bond (1991) to a panel data set. The energy demand is specified by a simple partial adjustment model. We...

We examine the largest cost component in offshore development projects, drilling rates, which have been high in recent years. To our knowledge, rig rates have not been analysed empirically before in the economic literature. Using econometric analysis, we examine the effects of gas and oil...

Unmanaged and overgrown coastal heathlands represent a substantial fire hazard. We analyse how this hazard in Norwegian coastal heathlands is influenced by weather conditions, land management, and usage. Our analysis integrates vegetation, maintenance, and management data with emergency response...

This paper investigates which firms suffer from informal competition and highlights the role of access to finance in this context. We use cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys covering 42,000 firms in 114 developing and transition countries for the period 2006 to 2011 and...

This paper provides a method to construct simultaneous confidence bands for quantile and quantile effect functions for possibly discrete or mixed discrete-continuous random variables. The construction is generic and does not depend on the nature of the underlying problem. It works in conjunction...

Norwegian parents of preschool children base their care choices on a completely different choice set from their predecessor. Now there is essentially only one type of nonparental care – center-based care – and on the parental side fathers take a more pivotal role in early childhood care. In...