This paper compares a nonparametric generalized least squares (NPGLS) estimator to parametric feasible GLS (FGLS) and variants of heteroscedasticity robust standard error estimators (HRSEs) in an applied setting. Given myriad alternative HRSEs, a clear consensus on which version to use does not...

This paper proposes urbanization as a determinant of government size. As people move to cities, their demand for a more defined set of regulations, but also for basic health, education, and income standards rises. Our theoretical framework determines how the regional distribution of the...

Economic literature has so far produced very limited (country-level only) evidence on the magnitude of skilled biased technical change (SBTC) and not investigated at all the extent to which, coupled with labor market imperfections, it can be associated to an inefficient use of labor. We present...

The hat matrix maps the vector of response values in a regression to its predicted counterpart. The trace of this hat matrix is the workhorse for calculating the effective number of parameters in both parametric and nonparametric regression settings. Drawing on the regression literature, the...

The matrix that transforms the response variable in a regression to its predicted value is commonly referred to as the hat matrix. The trace of the hat matrix is a standard metric for calculating degrees of freedom. The two prominent theoretical frameworks for studying hat matrices to calculate...

Accurate counts of cases and deaths are critical for devising an optimal pandemic response. Yet, as the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, so too has the recognition that cases and deaths have been underreported, perhaps vastly so. Here, we present an econometric strategy to estimate the true...

In this paper we pursue a novel application of Bayesian empirical likelihood methods to estimate the canonical stochastic frontier model. We utilize this new framework to study technical efficiency, scale economies and technological change in the United States nuclear energy generation sector....

We study the differential impact of exchange rate volatility on cost efficiency and market structure when banks have non-trivial exposures to foreign currency operations. We use unique pre-war data on quarterly revaluations of assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies that Russian...

We study the differential impact of exchange rate volatility on cost efficiency and market structure when banks have non-trivial exposures to foreign currency operations. First, we document that cost efficiency estimates are both severely downward biased by 30% on average and generally not rank...

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are one of the dominant approaches to compare statistical methods. To date, there is no standard procedure for MC simulations. Although internally valid, they exhibit a certain degree of arbitrariness through the various choices that researchers make. In this paper,...