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on Discrete Choice Models |
| By: | Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado |
| Abstract: | The binary-response maximum score (MS) estimator is a robust estimator, which can accommodate heteroskedasticity of an unknown form; J. Horowitz (1992) defined a smoothed maximum score estimator SMS) and demonstrated that this improves the convergence rate for sufficiently smooth conditional error densities. In this paper we relax Horowitz’s smoothness assumptions of the model and extend his asymptotic results. We also derive a joint limiting distribution of estimators with different bandwidths and smoothing kernels. We construct an estimator that combines SMS estimators for different bandwidths and kernels to overcome the uncertainty over choice of bandwidth when the degree of smoothnes of error distribution is unknown. A Monte Carlo study demonstrates the gains in efficiency and robustness. |
| JEL: | C14 C25 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcl:mclwop:2004-01&r=dcm |
| By: | Paola Manzini (Queen Mary, University of London and IZA); Marco Mariotti (Queen Mary, University of London) |
| Abstract: | We study two boundedly rational procedures in consumer behavior. We show that these procedures can be detected by conditions on observable demand data of the same type as standard revealed preference axioms. This provides the basis for a non-parametric analysis of boundedly rational consumer behavior mirroring the classical one for utility maximization. |
| Keywords: | Bounded rationality, Revealed preference, Consumer choice |
| JEL: | D1 D11 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:wp571&r=dcm |
| By: | Pablo Brañas-Garza (Universidad de Granada); Máximo Rossi (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República); Dayna Zaclicever (Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effect of religious observance and affiliation to the dominant religion (Catholicism) on trust in institutions, towards others and market attitudes. The analysis is performed using a Latin American database of twenty thousand respondents from 2004 by means of ordered probit models. The most interesting results are: i) Trust toward others is positively correlated with religious observance and with Catholic affiliation. ii) There is a positive correlation between trust in the government, in the police, in the armed forces, in the judiciary and in the banking system and religious practice in general. Identical positive results are obtained for Catholic affiliation. iii) Correlations with attitudes toward the market, in general, are heterogeneous but never negative. In sum, individual’s level of religiosity crucially affects trust in institutions and toward peers. We also found that Catholicism encourages both trust in institutions and towards others. Thus, we found a positive effect of “religiosity” on social capital. In fact, we never found any negative (and significant) effect on the variables considered. |
| Keywords: | trust in institutions, economic behavior, religious practise, Catholics. |
| JEL: | Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2006–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ude:wpaper:0506&r=dcm |
| By: | Eliasson, Kent (National Institute for Working Life) |
| Abstract: | This thesis consists of three papers that examine college choice and earnings among university graduates in Sweden. <p> Paper [I] analyzes how geographical accessibility to higher education affects university enrollment decisions in Sweden. The empirical findings show that the probability of enrollment in university education increases with accessibility to university education. The results also indicate that accessibility adds to the likelihood of attending a university within the region of residence. Both these findings are robust with regard to different specifications of accessibility. The empirical results furthermore indicate that the enrollment decisions of individuals with a less privileged background are more sensitive to accessibility to university education than are the decisions of individuals from a more favorable background. <p> Paper [II] examines the effect on earnings of graduating from five different college groups. The paper relies on selection on observables and linear regression to identify the earnings effect of college choice. Contrary to the majority of previous Swedish studies, we do not find any systematic differences in estimated earnings between college graduates from the different college groups. This finding does not only hold when considering all college graduates, but also when focusing on men and women separately as well as when considering college graduates in two specific fields of education. The results suggest that an estimator of the earnings effects of college choice that does not properly adjust for ability is likely to be substantially biased. <p> Paper [III] estimates the causal effect on earnings of graduating from old universities rather than new universities/university colleges. The study compares estimates from several different matching methods and linear regression. We cannot find any significant differences in earnings between graduates from the two groups of colleges. This holds for male and female sub-samples covering all majors, as well as male and female sub-samples covering two broad fields of education. The results are robust with regard to different methods of propensity score matching and regression adjustment. Furthermore, the results indicate little sensitivity with regard to the empirical support in the data and alternative specifications of the propensity scores. |
| Keywords: | College choice; earnings; propensity score matching |
| JEL: | A22 C14 I21 J31 |
| Date: | 2006–09–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0693&r=dcm |