Beginning with the recent reorganisation of the principal Italian public research bodies, which has led to the founding of larger labs, this paper evaluates the presence of statistically significant relationships between the dimensions of the research bodies and the performance of the same. The...

In social network analysis, many estimation methods have been developed over the past three decades. Due to the computational complexity for analyzing large-scale social network data, however, those methods cannot be applied effectively. On the other hand, the structure of large-scale network...

Moderated multiple regression models allow the simple relationship between the dependent variable and an independent variable to depend on the level of another independent variable. The moderated relationship, often referred to as the interaction, is modeled by including a product term as an...

The paper considers the task of selecting a flexible nonlinear model which can be used as a baseline model. The baseline model may be used as a testing ground for more structural models which are congruent with economic theory. From the limited empirical evidence obtained here it is tentatively...

In this paper, I propose a tractable approach to Bayesian inference in linear regression models for which the standard exogeneity assumption does not hold. By specifying a beta prior for the squared correlation between an error term and regressor, I demonstrate that the implied prior for a bias...

This paper considers regression models for cross-section data that exhibit cross-section dependence due to common shocks, such as macroeconomic shocks. The paper analyzes the properties of least squares (LS) and instrumental variables (IV) estimators in this context. The results of the paper...

Despite the widespread use of graphs in empirical research, little is known about readers' ability to process the statistical information they are meant to convey ("visual inference"). We study visual inference within the context of regression discontinuity (RD) designs by measuring how...

This Chapter provides the reader with a general modelling framework for analysing the determinants of the Alkire and Foster (2011) poverty measures for both micro and macro levels of analyses. At the micro level, we present a model where the focal variable is a person's poverty status. At the...

Identification in a regression discontinuity (RD) design hinges on the discontinuity in the probability of treatment when a covariate (assignment variable) exceeds a known threshold. If the assignment variable is measured with error, however, the discontinuity in the first stage relationship...

There are many alternative approaches to selecting mortality models and forecasting mortality. The standard practice is to produce forecasts using a single model such as the Lee-Carter, the Cairns-Blake-Dowd, or the Age- Period-Cohort model, with model selection based on in-sample goodness of...