Rating variables indicate the extent to which a quality is present, or absent, in a unit of observation. In this paper, we discuss a class of non-linear regression models for rating dependent variables and their estimation by parametric and semiparametric methods. An application to life...

We provide a methodology to disentangle the long-run relation between variables from their own dynamics. Macroeconomic and aggregate financial series have a high degree of inertia. If this persistence is not properly accounted for, spurious correlations will give rise to paradoxes. Our procedure...

This paper shows how the problem of mean-downside risk portfolio allocation can be cast in terms of penalized least squares (PLS). The penalty is given by a power function of the returns below a certain threshold. We derive the asymptotic properties of the PLS estimator, allowing for possible...

This paper analyses the economic performance of European Regions and computes the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) using a panel cointegration approach. The main idea behind this choice is that this approach allows to directly estimate differences across economies in the production function and...

Are people happier if they experience freedom from regulation, and how do individual attitudes towards liberalisation influence personal life satisfaction? Based on data from European and World Values Surveys and the Economic Freedom of the World project we find evidence for positive effects of...

This research aims to test empirically the relationship between the Financial Performances (Profitability) and the level of Corporate Governance Disclosure (CGD) by the listed non-financial companies in Bangladesh. Data are taken from annual reports of the listed companies in the 2007. This...

Since Sachs and Warner's (1995a) contribution, there has been a lively debate on the so-called natural resource curse. This paper re-examines the effects of natural resource abundance on economic growth using new measures of resource endowment and considering the role of institutional quality....

Individuals may be poor even if their household is not poor, because the intra-household distribution of resources may be unequal. Dunbar, Lewbel and Pendakur (2013) develop a model wherein the resource share of each person in a collective household - defined as their share of total household...

In this paper, we test the efficiency of least-squares Monte Carlo method to estimate capital requirements in life insurance. We choose a simplified Gaussian evaluation framework where closed-form formulas are available and allow us to obtain solid benchmarks. Extensive numerical experiments...

We use unique survey data on working time reduction during the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis in the spring of 2020 to estimate the number of working hours lost in Germany due to closed schools and child care facilities. Our results indicate that overall, a loss of not more than 1.1 percent...