Before implementing any multivariate statistical analysis based on em- pirical covariance matrices, it is important to check whether outliers are present because their existence could induce significant biases. In this article, we present the minimum covariance determinant estimator, which is...

The past forty years or so has seen a remarkable transformation in macro-models used by central banks, policymakers and forecasting bodies. This papers describes this transformation from reduced-form behavioural equations estimated separately, through to contemporary micro-founded dynamic...

We propose a modified version of the nonparametric level crossing random walk test, in which the crossing level is determined locally. This modification results in a test that is robust to unknown multiple structural breaks in the level and slope of the trend function under both the null and...

The economic analysis of income distribution and related topics makes extensive use of dominance criteria to draw inferences about welfare comparisons. However it is possible that - just as some inequality statistics can be very sensitive to extreme values - conclusions drawn from empirical...

We examine the statistical performance of inequality indices in the presence of extreme values in the data and show that these indices are very sensitive to the properties of the income distribution. Estimation and inference can be dramatically affected, especially when the tail of the income...

In this paper an analytical framework similar to a robust control problem was developed for the one-state, one-control variable model to examine the response of the control to changes in the “free” parameter. However, in contrast to Gonzalez and Rodriguez (2003), the sign multiplying the...

In this note a one-state, one-control variable quadratic linear problem with robust control and discount factor is developed to examine the optimal response of the first-period control to changes in future model uncertainty. A change in future model uncertainty has an effect on the optimal...