In this dissertation, we analyze whether the noise ratio statistic of Durlauf and Hall (1989), NRT, can be used as a non-nested model selection tool in a similar fashion to the Rivers and Vuong (2002) framework. For this purpose, we first show that, when scaled by the sample size T, NRT is...

The increased importance of fragmentation in world trade has created an interest among trade economists to explain the determinants of trade in intermediate goods. A substantial part of trade in intermediates between the US and OECD countries takes the form of intra-industry (IIT). I have...

This dissertaion is comprised of two essays on econometric evaluation of models of commodity futures prices. The first essay develops a frequency- domain volatility bound approach that can be used to evaluate possibly mis-specified models. The proposed method allows us to detect model failures...

This dissertation consists of three essays, first two of which consider a new estimation method of dynamic panel data models and the last one considers an application of these models. The first essay (Chapter 1) offers empirical likelihood (EL) estimation of dynamic panel data models, which...

GMM provides a computationally convenient estimation method and the resulting estimator can be shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal under the fairly moderate regularity conditions. It is widely known that the information content in the population moment condition has impacts on the...

This dissertation explores the applicability of recently developed simulation-based econometric methods to the analysis of spatial price determination and integration of markets. As such a measure of market integration is developed within the context of well-known point-location competitive...

This dissertation consists of three essays on modeling and parameter estimation for covariance non-stationary processes. The first essay considers the non-linear deformation of time scale for G(lambda)-stationary processes developed by Jiang, Gray and Woodward [2006]. After the appropriate...

This dissertation revisits the literature on the role of exchange rate flexibility in smoothing the adjustments of the economy to different disturbances. Recently, the role of flexible exchange rates in stabilizing the economy against real shocks has been challenged by the new open economy...

This dissertation comprises three essays analyzing the economic behavior of customers visiting farms with recreational purposes in the United States. The first essay uses the Travel Cost method with data from the 2000 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment to determine and quantify...