This research proposes that, in cases where threshold covariates are either unavailable or difficult to observe, practitioners should treat these characteristics as latent, and use simulated maximum likelihood techniques to control for them. Two econometric frameworks for doing so in a more...

Discrete variables that have an inherent sense of ordering across outcomes are commonly found in large datasets available to many economists, and are often the focus of research. However, assumptions underlying the standard Ordered Probit (which is usually used to analyse such variables) are not...

Self-assessed measures of health using Likert-type scales are widely used to assess the health and well-being of populations, and are a feature of household surveys throughout the world. However, the self-reported and subjective nature of these measures means that different people will...

This paper focuses on the self-reported responses given to survey questions of the form In general how would you rate your health? with typical response items being on a scale ranging from poor to excellent. Usually, the overwhelming majority of responses fall in either the middle category or...

Discrete variables that have an inherent sense of ordering across outcomes are commonly found in large datasets available to many economists, and are often the focus of research. However, assumptions underlying the standard Ordered Probit (which is usually used to analyse such variables) are not...