This paper investigates a generalized method of moments (GMM) approach to the estimation of autoregressive roots near unity with panel data. The two moment conditions studied are obtained by constructing bias corrections to the score functions under OLS and GLS detrending, respectively. It is...

With credence goods consumers cannot judge the quality they receive compared to the quality they need. The needed quality can only be observed by an expert seller who may exploit the information asymmetry by cheating. In recent years various contributions have analyzed the credence goods problem...

This paper analyzes the voting behavior of Euro-parliamentarians. The roll call data from the plenary sessions of European parliament(EP) during the third and fourth legislatures is used to estimate legislators' preferences. Applying the spatial models of roll call voting to the EP, we...

In this paper, we investigate the nature of income inequality across nations by first estimating, testing, and distinguishing between two types of aggregate production functions: the extended neoclassical model and a mincerian formulation of schooling-returns to skills. Next, given our...

One of the core issues in the economic growth literature is the degree to which economic activity is becoming ``similar'' across countries. This question has been addressed in a variety of manners, both theoretical and empirical. An implicit assumption within this literature is that the...

Breeden, Gibbons and Litzenberger (1989), and Lamont (1999), use "economic tracking portfolios" to forecast macroeconomic data. Tracking portfolios are constructed to reflect market expectations and reveal the impact of news. However, these papers, as well as many related studies which examine...

The paper uses micro data on income and asset holdings from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to analyze reasons for nonparticipation and for heterogeneity in portfolio choice within the set of stock market participants. The focus of the paper is on non-financial income and costs of...

We study the behavior of price dispersion in Poland following the big-bang transition to a market economy in 1990 using a large, disaggregated data set. Intra- and intermarket dispersions fall rapidly in the early stages of transition. This is not fully explained by changes in inflation or in...

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We generalize the cointegrated vector autoregressive model of Johansen (1988, 1991) to allow for structural breaks. We derive the likelihood ratio test for structural breaks occurring at fixed points in time, and show that it is asymptotically chi-squared. Moreover, we show how inference can be...