The design-approach is evaluated, using a likelihood approach to survey sampling. It is argued that a model-based approach is unavoidable from a scientific point of view. Estimating population quantities can then be regarded as a prediction problem. Predictive likelihood methods are considered...

When decomposing differences in average economic outcome between two groups of individuals, it is common practice to base the analysis on logarithms if the dependent variable is nonnegative. This paper argues that this approach raises a number of undesired statistical and conceptual issues...

We propose a new approach for performing detailed decompositions of average outcome differentials, which can be applied to all types of generalized linear models. A simulation exercise demonstrates that our method produces more convincing results than existing methods. An empirical application...

Regulatory authorities in the European electricity sector use benchmarking techniques to determine the cost-efficient production level for an incentive regulation of distribution system operators (DSOs). With nearly 900 DSOs operating in the German electricity sector, of which 200 subject to...

In this paper, I study the drop of real GDP volatility which has been observed in the United States during the postwar period. This paper thoroughly estimates how much sectoral shifts contributed to this phenomenon called the Great Moderation. In a short section, Stock and Watson (2003) find...

Contrary to standard agnostic statistical approaches an output gap estimate based on a New Keynesian Small Open Economy model provides the possibility to analyze the driving forces of the variation in GDP caused by nominal rigidities. This paper makes use of this and provides an estimate of a...

We propose a method to incorporate information from Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models into Dynamic Factor Analysis. The method combines a procedure previously applied for Bayesian Vector Autoregressions and a Gibbs Sampling approach for Dynamic Factor Models. The factors in...

This paper provides empirical evidence of production risk impact on sustainable land- management technology adoption, using two years of cross-sectional plot-level data collected in the Ethiopian highlands. We used a moment-based approach, which allowed a flexible representation of the...

In this paper, we investigate whether better information about the macroeconomic environment of an economy has a positive impact on its capital inflows, namely portfolio and foreign direct investment (FDI). The purpose of our study is to explicitly quantify information asymmetries by compliance...

In countries where insurance and credit markets are thin or missing, production and consumption risks play a critical role in the choice and use of production inputs and adoption of new farm technologies. In this paper, we investigated impacts of chemical fertilizer and soil and water...