This paper analyzes the economic growth problems of Timor-Leste since its independence. As for a typical country whose economic growth is mostly relying on the petroleum revenues, its monotonous source of income seems to be the biggest obstacle. Therefore, this article mainly analyzed the...

Most existing semi-parametric estimation procedures for binary choice models are based on the maximum score, maximum likelihood, or nonlinear least squares principles. These methods have two problems. They are difficult to compute and they may result in multiple local optima because they require...

We propose a semiparametric estimator within the class of indirect methods. Specifically, we model private valuations through a set of conditional moment restrictions. Our econometric model calls for a two step procedure. In the first step we recover a sample of pseudo private values while using...

Chapter 1: Nonparametric Identification of Insurance Models with Multidimensional Screening (with Isabelle Perrigne and Quang Vuong)This chapter studies the identification of an insurance model with multidimensional screening, where insurees are characterized by risk and risk aversion. The model...

Endogeneity and misspecification of models are two main concerns in structural estimation, which usually involves the optimal choices of economic agents with unobservable characteristics. In estimating production functions, input variables are endogenous because input decisions depend on...

Essay 1: Integrated Conditional MomentTest for Parametric Conditional Distributions (with Herman J. Bierens)This paper extends the Integrated Conditional Moment (ICM) test for the functional form of nonlinear regression models to tests for parametric conditional distributions. This test is...

How brand slogans can influence and change the consumers’ perception of image of products has been a topic of great interest to marketers. However, it is a non-trivial task to evaluate how brand slogans affect their customers’ emotions and how the emotions influence the customers’...

Resource management including resource allocation, levelling, configuration and monitoring has been recognised as critical to design decision making. It has received increasing research interests in recent years. Different definitions, models and systems have been developed and published in...

In this thesis, we study nonparametric identification of first-price auction models and propose a semi-nonparametric simulated integratedmoment estimation method to recover the underlying value distribution.In the first essay, we investigate the nonparametric identification of the first-price...

This dissertation explores three issues regarding mutual funds. The first chapter examines the ability of government bond fund managers to time the market, based on their holdings of Treasury securities during the period 1997-2006. We find that, on average, government bond fund managers exhibit...