Nowcasting volatility of financial time series appears difficult with classical volatility models. This paper proposes a simple model, based on an ARMA representation of the log-transformed squared returns, that allows to estimate current volatility, given past and current returns, in a very...

In this paper, we derive Lagrange multiplier and Lagrange multiplier type specification and misspecification tests for vector smooth transition models. We report results from simulation studies in which the size and power properties of the proposed tests in small samples are considered. The...

We propose a new class of multidimensional poverty indices. To aggregate and weight the different dimensions of poverty, we rely on the preferences of the concerned agents rather than on an arbitrary weighting scheme selected by the analyst. The Pareto principle is, therefore, satisfied among...

Recent extensions of the standard Dixit-Stiglitz (1977) model, that go beyond the CES sub-utility assumption, while maintaining monopolistic competition, have mainly emphasized the role of iintrasectoral substitutability. We argue that introducing oligopolistic competition can be an alternative...

Polarization measures, that are used in examining the empirical relationship between ethnic divisions and violent conflict, heavily rely on mechanisms of group identification and often use somewhat arbitrary divisions of a society into ethnic groups. In this paper we construct two new measures...

In an increasing number of empirical studies, the dimensionality measured e.g. as the size of the parameter space of interest, can be very large. Two instances of large dimensional models are the linear regression with a large number of covariates and the estimation of a regression function with...

We here consider how Chinese firms adjust to higher minimum wages and how these affect aggregate productivity, exploiting the 2004 minimum-wage reform in China. We find that higher city-level minimum wages reduced the survival probability of firms which were the most exposed to the reform. For...

In this paper, we suggest an algorithm for price adjustment towards a partial market equilibrium. Its convergence properties are crucially based on Convex Analysis. Our price adjustment corresponds to a subgradient scheme for minimizing a special nonsmooth convex function. This function is the...

Since the introduction of a formal commitments procedure in EU an- titrust policy (Article 9 of Council Regulation 1/2003), the European Commission has extensively settled cases of alleged anticompetitive practices. In this paper, we use a formal model of law enforcement (Be- bchuk, 1984; Shavell,...

We investigate how to solve several classical network flow problems using secure multi-party computation. We consider the shortest path problem, the Minimum Mean Cycle problem and the Minimum Cost Flow problem. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the two last problems have been...