We propose a set of algorithms for testing the ergodicity of empirical time series, without reliance on a specific parametric framework. It is shown that the resulting test asymptotically obtains the correct size for stationary and nonstationary processes, and maximal power against non-ergodic...

Islamic banking is a growing phenomenon which came into existence to satisfy the financial needs of devout Muslims who observe the prohibition of interest-based transactions. Many economists have studied the macroeconomic properties of this institution in the framework of an isolated and ideal...

Extremum estimation is typically an ad hoc semi-parametric estimation procedure which is only justified on the basis of the asymptotic properties of the estimators. For a fixed finite data set, consider a large number of investigations using different extremum estimators to estimate the same...

Several recent articles have shown that the efficient outcome for bilateral trade, even in the face of specific investments and incomplete contracting, can be supported with appropriately-designed contracts. These studies have, for the most part, restricted attention to so called "selfish"...