In this thesis, we propose to analyze panel count data using a spline-basedsieve generalized estimating equation method with a semiparametric proportional mean model E(N(t)|Z) = Λ0(t) eβT0Z. The natural log of the baseline mean function, logΛ0(t), is approximated by a monotone cubic B-spline...

In this article, we consider the setting where the event of interest can occur repeatedly for the same subject (i.e., a recurrent event; e.g., hospitalization) and may be stopped permanently by a terminating event (e.g., death). Among the different ways to model recurrent/terminal event data,...

This paper proposes asymptotically optimal tests for unstable parameter process under the feasible circumstance that the researcher has little information about the unstable parameter process and the error distribution, and suggests conditions under which the knowledge of those processes does...

I develop and structurally estimate an equilibrium model of the college market. Students, who are heterogeneous in both abilities and preferences, make college application decisions, subject to uncertainty and application costs. Colleges observe only noisy measures of student ability and set up...

In models with unobserved taste heterogeneity, distributional assumptions can be placed in two ways: (1) by specifying the distribution of coefficients in the utility function and deriving the distribution of willingness to pay (wtp), or (2) by specifying the distribution of wtp and deriving the...

Discrete choice models are widely used in studies of recreation demand. They have proven valuable when modeling situations where decision makers face large choice sets and site substitution is important. However, when the choice set faced by the individual becomes very large (on the order of...

This article extends the Berry, Levinsohn, Pakes (1995) model to include retail services by Boston supermarkets in an equilibrium model of breakfast cereals and then tests alternative vertical pricing games between manufacturers and supermarkets to ascertain who’s got the pricing power....

For over the last thirty years the multinomial logit model has been the standard in choice modeling. Development in econometrics and computational algorithms has led to the increasing tendency to opt for more flexible models able to depict more realistically choice behavior. This study compares...

¿Están las decisiones de portada de los periódicos basadas en las posibles complementariedades entre las noticias? Este trabajo estudia la elección de noticias de portada hecha por los editores de los mayores periódicos impresos de Estados Unidos. Se documenta que las portadas están...

Non-market valuation techniques are vital instruments of policy. Providing quantitative welfare estimates validates public policy decisions. This research independently addresses three aspects of nonmarket valuation. Hedonic valuation of industrial accidents, limitations in recreational demand...