Quantile regression, as introduced by Koenker and Bassett (1978), may be viewed as an extension of classical least squares estimation of conditional mean models to the estimation of an ensemble of models for several conditional quantile functions. The central special case is the median...

We provide a nontechnical review of recent nonparametric methods for estimating density and regression functions. The methods we describe make it possible for a researcher to estimate a regression function or density without having to specify in advance a particular--and hence potentially...

The bootstrap and multiple imputations are two techniques that can enhance the accuracy of estimated confidence bands and critical values. Although they are computationally intensive, relying on repeated sampling from empirical data sets and associated estimates, modern computing power enables...

The 2014 John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association was awarded to Matthew Gentzkow of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The citation recognized Matt's "fundamental contributions to our understanding of the economic forces driving the creation of media...

The papers from the first year of the American Economic Review are included in the Archives of the American Economic Association. While researching the early years of the AEA, Ann Mari May came across a folder marked "Controversies, Criticisms, etc."-which stood out in the midst of a review of...

Edmund S. Phelps has been McVickar Professor of Political Economy at Columbia University in New York City, New York, since 1982 and director of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University's Earth Institute since 2001. In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic...

In a 1966 article in the <em>American Economic Review</em>, Harvey Leibenstein introduced the concept of "X-efficiency": the gap between ideal allocative efficiency and actually existing efficiency. Leibenstein insisted that absent strong competitive pressure, firms are unlikely to use their resources...

Early modern Europe in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries witnessed an unprecedented increase in the rate of economic growth, and governments entertained a wide range of proposals aimed at developing and harnessing foreign trade and emerging financial markets. In his magisterial...