This paper offers a new method for nonparametric estimation - based on the Cobb-Douglas form - that is simple, easy to interpret, efficient among the class of all linear nonparametric estimators, and nearly efficient among all nonparametric estimators. Thus empirical analysts who prefer the...

The precision of appraisals used to refinance mortgages is particularly difficult to evaluate because there are no sales prices to serve as a basis for comparison. This paper estimates the accuracy of refinance appraisals using a novel methodology that does not require using a sales price as a...

This paper identifies an important mechanism through which the homeownership gap among racial groups can be narrowed. The effects of skills achieved in early adulthood—as measured by the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) score, the Rotter score, and a Social skill score based on Demings...

The foreclosure crisis that began in 2008 triggered the need for new approaches to treat distressed mortgages. A key component of the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was the development of a standardized Net Present Value (NPV) model to identify troubled loans...

Asymptotic local power analysis has become an important and increasingly used technique in econometrics. This paper reviews the history of local power analysis and delineates the contribution of J.Neyman, E.J.G. Pitman, and G. Noether.