We consider the problem of detecting unobserved heterogeneity, that is, the problem of testing the absence of random individual effects in an n×T panel. We establish a local asymptotic normality property–with respect to intercept, regression coefficient, the scale parameter σ of the error,...

We propose quasi maximum likelihood (QML) estimation of dynamic panel models with spatial errors when the cross-sectional dimension n is large and the time dimension T is fixed. We consider both the random effects and fixed effects models, and prove consistency and derive the limiting...

An exact maximum likelihood method is developed for the estimation of parameters in a nonlinear non-Gaussian dynamic panel data model with unobserved random individual-specific and time-varying effects. We propose an estimation procedure based on the importance sampling technique. In particular,...

This paper investigates to what extent the persistence of Microsoft Windows in the market for server operating systems is due to lock-in or unobserved preferences. While the hypothesis of lock-in plays an important role in the antitrust policy debate for the operating systems market, it has not...

This paper proposes a single-index semiparametric model in which the unknown function has cross-sectional unit specific weights. The initial motivation comes from the search for a better measure of liquidity in stock trading which is captured by the unknown function here. The model is estimated...

This paper provides a nonparametric test of the specification of a transformation model. Specifically, we test whether an observable outcome Y is monotonic in the sum of a function of observable covariates X plus an unobservable error U. Transformation models of this form are commonly assumed in...

This paper develops two tests for parametric volatility function of a diffusion model based on Khmaladze (1981)’s martingale transformation. The tests impose no restrictions on the functional form of the drift function and are shown to be asymptotically distribution-free. The tests are...

We develop new methods for the estimation of time-varying risk-neutral jump tails in asset returns. In contrast to existing procedures based on tightly parameterized models, our approach imposes much fewer structural assumptions, relying on extreme-value theory approximations together with...

Frontier estimation appears in productivity analysis. Firm’s performance is measured by the distance between its output and an optimal production frontier. Frontier estimation becomes difficult if outputs are measured with noise and most approaches rely on restrictive parametric assumptions....

We suggest a semi-nonparametric estimator for the call-option price surface. The estimator is a bivariate tensor-product B-spline. To enforce no-arbitrage constraints across strikes and expiry dates, we establish sufficient no-arbitrage conditions on the control net of the B-spline surface. The...