A new information-based approach for estimating systems of many equations with nonnegativity constraints is presented. This approach, called generalized maximum entropy (GME), is more practical and efficient than traditional maximum-likelihood methods. The GME method is used to estimate an...

We use a nonlinear, nonparametric method to forecast unemployment rates. This method is an extension of the nearest-neighbor method but uses a higher-dimensional simplex approach. We compare these forecasts with several linear and nonlinear parametric methods based on the work of Montgomery et...

The problem of recovering the entries of a large matrix of expenditure, trade, or income flows from limited-incomplete multisectoral economic data is considered. Making use of some consistency and adding up restrictions, the problem is cast as a pure inverse problem and specified within a...

Standard economic theory predicts that if property rights to pollute are clearly established, equilibrium outcomes in an efficient emissions permit market will be independent of how the emissions permits are initially distributed. This so-called independence property has important implications...

We employ a new method to estimate China's income distribution using publicly available interval summary statistics. We examine rural, urban, and overall income distributions from 1985 to 2001. We show how the distributions change directly, and we examine trends in inequality. Using an...

Empirical researchers interested in the causal effect of the endogenous regressor often use instrumental variables. When few valid instruments are available, they typically estimate restricted specifications that impose uniform per unit treatment effects, even when these effects are likely to...

Most Americans are now in some form of managed care plan that restricts access to services in order to reduce costs. It is difficult to determine whether these restrictions affect health because individuals and firms self-select into managed care. We investigate the effect of managed care using...

Critics argue that electronic voting is vulnerable to fraud. We test whether voting technology affected electoral outcomes in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. We find a positive correlation between use of electronic voting and George Bush vote share. The effect could have been large...

We estimate the effect of extreme weather on life expectancy in the United States. Using high-frequency data, we find that both extreme heat and cold result in immediate increases in mortality. The increase in mortality following extreme heat appears mostly driven by near-term displacement,...