We propose a new methodology for estimating semiparametric panel data models, with a primary focus on the nonparametric component. We eliminate individual effects using first differencing transformation and estimate the unknown function by marginal integration. We extend our methodology to treat...

In this article, we examine both pre- and post-reform economic convergence behaviour in China using the time-series procedures developed in the Hobijn and Franses (2000). Our results are striking: First, we find a number of extremely small convergence clubs for both the pre- and post-reform...

In this paper, we propose a new concept of convergence which is based on the metric entropy measure recently proposed by Granger et al. (2004) to investigate economic convergence in China. This entropy measure compares whole distributions of growth rates across individual provinces. Separately,...

Although the theoretical trade-off between the quantity and quality of children is well-established, empirical evidence supporting such a causal relationship is limited. Moreover, empirical studies that have been undertaken typically focus on education as a measure of child quality and have been...

We examine the (potentially nonlinear) relationship between inequality and growth using a method which does not require an a priori assumption on the underlying functional form. This approach reveals a plateau completely missed by commonly used (nonlinear) parametric approaches - the economy...

We compare several income distributions in urban China in the late 1980s and mid-1990s using tests for stochastic dominance in order to decompose gender differentials. Examination of the entire distribution gives insight into the uniformity of such differentials across the distribution....

For OECD countries there is an intriguing variety of combinations between total fertility rate (TFR) and female labor force participation rate (FPR) suggesting the existence of multiple equilibria. This paper provides a differential game framework where the employment choices by husband and wife...

In this paper, we propose a new concept of convergence which is based on the metric entropy measure recently proposed by Granger et al. (2004, Journal of Time Series Analysis 25, 649--69) to investigate economic convergence in China. This entropy measure compares whole distributions of growth...

We examine the educational production function and efficiency of public school districts in Illinois. Using nonparametric kernel methods, we find that most traditional schooling inputs are irrelevant in determining test scores (even in a very general setting). Property tax caps are the only...

For OECD countries there is an intriguing variety of combinations between total fertility rate (TFR) and female labor force participation rate (FPR) suggesting the existence of multiple equilibria. This paper provides a differential game framework where the employment choices by husband and wife...