This paper develops a test for monotonicity of nonparametric regression models under endogeneity, which in its generality is novel in the literature.  The test statistic, which is built upon a second order U-process, introduces 'correction terms' based on control functions that purge the...

This study estimates agency's impact on the efficiency of sugar plantations on St. Vincent and the Grenadines during the early 19th century.  Using a panel data set covering the years 1814-1829, a series of stochastic frontier models are estimated to investigate whether estates employing agents...

This paper analyzes collective decision making when individual preferences evolve through learning.  Votes are affected by their anticipated effect on future preferences.  The analysis is conducted in a two-arm bandit model with a safe alternative and a risky alternative whose payoff...

Using a complete panel of Ghanaian cocoa producers' societies in the 1930s, we investigate whether group interaction problems threatened (i) capital accumulation, (ii) cocoa sales and (iii) cooperative survival as membership size increased.  We find evidence of group interaction problems.  The...

We present a new procedure for detecting multiple additive outliers in GARCH(1,1) models at unknown dates. The outlier candidates are the observations with the largest standardized residual. First, a likelihood-ratio based test determines the presence and timing of an outlier. Next, a second...

Following the transposition of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive into Irish law, all properties offered for sale or to let in Ireland are obliged to have an energy efficiency rating.  This paper analyses the effect of energy efficiency ratings on the sale and rental prices of...

A common problem in estimation of discrete choice models is that the complete choice set is very large.  A good example is supermarket consumer goods, like breakfast cereal where there are often a hundred or more varieties (SKUs or UPCs) to choose from.  In that case, estimation of complex...

Western governments typically pay out some 30 percent of GDP for social purposes.  This is financed by taxation on a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) basis.  How efficient are these transfers, and can market or other mechanisms do it better?  The problem arises since no individual stands alone.  During...

In this paper, I explore the reactions of financial amrket participants to news relating to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), a body that regulates aspects of global diamond production and trade.  I use an event study approach with data on the returns for shares of leading...

Previous analyses of the formation and composition of community based organizations (CBOs) have used cross section data.  So, causal inference has been compromised.  We obviate this problem by using data from a quasi-experiment in which villages were formed by government officials selecting...