There are two topics in this dissertation. The first topic is 'Smoothing Parameter Selection in Nonparametric Generalized Linear Models via Sixth-order Laplace Approximation' and the second topic is 'Smoothing Spline-based Score Tests for Proportional Hazards Models'.We present a new approach...

In the last five years, China's refrigerator market has grown rapidly, and now urban markets are showing signs of saturation, with ownership rates in urban households reaching 92%. Rural markets continue to grow from a much lower base. As a result of this growth, the Chinese government in 2006...

The minimum energy efficiency standards program for household appliances in China was initiated in 1989. Since 1996, CLASP and its implementing partner, LBNL, have assisted China in developing 11 minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for 9 products and endorsement labels for 11 products...

We contribute a novel approach to the existing literature on the effects of restructuring on R&D investment by focussing on a single industry, chemicals. The chemical industry is very research intensive and has experienced thorough restructuring since the early 1980s. By focussing on a single...

Although the prospect of obtaining patent protection is believed to encourage R&D investments and thus the rate of inventive activity, there is little by way of direct evidence to support this belief. We use original data from the 1994 Carnegie Mellon survey on the appropriation of R&D in the US...