Estimation with Price and Output Uncertainty

This paper extends the existing estimation methods to allow estimation under simultaneous price and output uncertainty. In contrast with the previous literature, our approach is applicable to the direct and indirect utility functions and does not require specification and estimation of the production function. We derive estimating equations for the two most common forms of output risk (additive and multiplicative risks) and empirically determine which form is appropriate. Moreover, our estimation method can be utilized by future empirical studies in several ways. First, our method can be extended to include multiple sources of uncertainty. Second, it is applicable to other specifications of output uncertainty. Third, it can be used to conduct hypothesis tests regarding the functional forms and distributions. Furthermore, it enables the future empirical researcher to empirically verify/refute the theoretical comparative statics results