Estimating bidders’ risk aversion in auctions is a challeging problem because of identification issues. This paper takes advantage of bidding data from two auction designs to identify nonparametrically the bidders’ utility function within a private value framework. In particular, ascending...

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...

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...

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...

My dissertation contributes to auction studies. It analyzes the bidding behavior in multi-round auctions. It is motivated by an interesting multi-round feature observed in the procurement auctions held by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT hereafter), which adopts secret reserve...

Why do some sellers auction their goods, while other sellers post a fixed price? My dissertation investigates this question using theoretical, empirical, and experimental methodologies. The first chapter takes the competitive structure of the market as given and examines how the probability that...

This dissertation studies the distributions of treatment effects in switching regimes models (SRMs). First, we propose a general class of SRMs and provide simple estimators of average treatment effects. Second, we establish sharp bounds on the joint distribution of potential outcomes and the...

This dissertation studies affiliation and entry in first-price auctions, accomplishing three goals. First, it develops a simple approach to test for affiliation among bidders' private information and applies the approach to the timber sales data in Oregon State. Second, it extends the affiliated...

My dissertation focuses on partial identification of the distribution function of treatment effects. When treatment effects are believed to be heterogeneous, policy evaluation often requires knowledge of the distribution function of potential treatment effects. This function cannot be...