Asymptotic Variance of Semiparametric Estimators With Generated Regressors

We study the asymptotic distribution of three‐step estimators of a finite‐dimensional parameter vector where the second step consists of one or more nonparametric regressions on a regressor that is estimated in the first step. The first‐step estimator is either parametric or nonparametric. Using Newey's (1994) path‐derivative method, we derive the contribution of the first‐step estimator to the influence function. In this derivation, it is important to account for the dual role that the first‐step estimator plays in the second‐step nonparametric regression, that is, that of conditioning variable and that of argument.     

Nonparametric Estimation of the Probability of Detection of Flaws in an Industrial Component,from Destructive and Nondestructive Testing Data,Using Approximate Bayesian Computation

We consider the problem of estimating the probability of detection (POD) of flaws in an industrial steel component. Modeled as an increasing function of the flaw height, the POD characterizes the detection process; it is also involved in the estimation of the flaw size distribution, a key input parameter of physical models describing the behavior of the steel component when submitted to extreme thermodynamic loads. Such models are used to assess the resistance of highly reliable systems whose failures are seldom observed in practice. We develop a Bayesian method to estimate the flaw size distribution and the POD function, using flaw height measures from periodic in‐service inspections conducted with an ultrasonic detection device, together with measures from destructive lab experiments. Our approach, based on approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) techniques, is applied to a real data set and compared to maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and a more classical approach based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. In particular, we show that the parametric model describing the POD as the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of a log‐normal distribution, though often used in this context, can be invalidated by the data at hand. We propose an alternative nonparametric model, which assumes no predefined shape, and extend the ABC framework to this setting. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of this method to provide a flexible estimation of the POD function and describe its uncertainty accurately.     

Applied Nonparametric Instrumental Variables Estimation

Instrumental variables are widely used in applied econometrics to achieve identification and carry out estimation and inference in models that contain endogenous explanatory variables. In most applications, the function of interest (e.g., an Engel curve or demand function) is assumed to be known up to finitely many parameters (e.g., a linear model), and instrumental variables are used to identify and estimate these parameters. However, linear and other finite‐dimensional parametric models make strong assumptions about the population being modeled that are rarely if ever justified by economic theory or other a priori reasoning and can lead to seriously erroneous conclusions if they are incorrect. This paper explores what can be learned when the function of interest is identified through an instrumental variable but is not assumed to be known up to finitely many parameters. The paper explains the differences between parametric and nonparametric estimators that are important for applied research, describes an easily implemented nonparametric instrumental variables estimator, and presents empirical examples in which nonparametric methods lead to substantive conclusions that are quite different from those obtained using standard, parametric estimators.     

How customer satisfaction with respect to price and quality affects customer retention: an integrated approach considering nonlinear effects

There is consensus in the marketing literature that satisfaction of customers concerning the perceived quality and pricing of products or services is critical for customer retention. In contrast, there is lack of empirical evidence about the exact functional relationship. Using parametric and nonparametric regression, this contribution empirically investigates whether and to what extent nonlinear effects of and interaction effects between both satisfaction dimensions affect customer retention. The empirical results do not only reveal complex nonlinear effects for those satisfaction-retention relationships, respectively, but also indicate strong interaction effects of both satisfaction dimensions on customer retention. Furthermore, nonparametric approaches prove to be more flexible than parametric approaches to model complex interactions.     

基于非参数估计框架的期望效用最大化最优投资组合

本文基于期望效用最大化和非参数估计框架研究了最优投资组合选择问题。和以往大多文献假定资产收益率服从某些特定分布不同资产收益率的分布类型无需作任何假设。首先在一般效用函数下,利用组合收益率密度函数的非参数核估计给出了期望效用的基本非参数估计公式,并建立了期望效用最大化投资组合选择问题的基本框架。然后,在投资者具有幂效用函数的假定下,给出了期望效用具体的非参数计算公式,并给出了求解最大期望效用的数值算法。最后,利用中国证券交易所11支股票日收益率的真实数据给出了一个数值算例。本文提出的非参数估计框架具有一般性,还可以进一步用来研究各种现实条件下（如各种现实不等式约束和具有交易成本）的投资组合管理问题。     

股指期权定价的非参数数值方法研究

扩散过程估计的参数化方法存在先入为主的不足,并且扩散项函数形式的设定十分困难,而非参数方法不需要数据产生过程的先验信息,直接从数据出发估计扩散函数,克服了以上不足。本文提出了一种基于连续时间过程的非参数股指期权定价模型。对于刻画基础资产动态行为特性的扩散函数不加任何函数形式限制,利用离散数据匹配密度函数构造它的非参数估计,进而计算股指期权的均衡价格。论文从理论上论证了扩散项估计的一致性和渐进正态性。实证研究表明,该方法对于实际市场价格具有较高的拟合效果,特别是在市场波动剧烈时期,非参数方法更优于经典B-S方法。     

Benchmark Dose Analysis via Nonparametric Regression Modeling

Estimation of benchmark doses (BMDs) in quantitative risk assessment traditionally is based upon parametric dose‐response modeling. It is a well‐known concern, however, that if the chosen parametric model is uncertain and/or misspecified, inaccurate and possibly unsafe low‐dose inferences can result. We describe a nonparametric approach for estimating BMDs with quantal‐response data based on an isotonic regression method, and also study use of corresponding, nonparametric, bootstrap‐based confidence limits for the BMD. We explore the confidence limits’ small‐sample properties via a simulation study, and illustrate the calculations with an example from cancer risk assessment. It is seen that this nonparametric approach can provide a useful alternative for BMD estimation when faced with the problem of parametric model uncertainty.     

Macroeconomic Conditions and the Distribution of Income in Spain

Abstract. This paper analyses the impact of changes in macroeconomic con ditions on the income distribution in Spain. Using household data from the Encuesta Continuada de Presupuestos Familiares (ECPF) from 1985 to 1996 we disentangle the effect of aggregate variables on the income distribution by estimating counterfactual densities conditional on different macroeconomic scenarios. In estimation, we use a semi‐parametric least squares procedure that allows a flexible interaction between the level of income and a first index of individual characteristics and a second index that captures the role of macroeconomic variables. We find that although inequality displays a decreasing trend over the earlier part of the period examined, the poor performance of the Spanish economy during the early 1990s appears to have reversed this trend. We also conclude that while inflation appears to have no impact on the distribution of income for the period examined, there were important redistributive roles for unemployment, government expenditure, and the level of GDP.     

Efficient Semiparametric Estimation of Censored and Truncated Regressions via a Smoothed Self‐Consistency Equation

An asymptotically efficient likelihood‐based semiparametric estimator is derived for the censored regression (tobit) model, based on a new approach for estimating the density function of the residuals in a partially observed regression. Smoothing the self‐consistency equation for the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator of the distribution of the residuals yields an integral equation, which in some cases can be solved explicitly. The resulting estimated density is smooth enough to be used in a practical implementation of the profile likelihood estimator, but is sufficiently close to the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator to allow estimation of the semiparametric efficient score. The parameter estimates obtained by solving the estimated score equations are then asymptotically efficient. A summary of analogous results for truncated regression is also given.     

Nonparametric Estimation of Nonadditive Random Functions

We present estimators for nonparametric functions that are nonadditive in unobservable random terms. The distributions of the unobservable random terms are assumed to be unknown. We show that when a nonadditive, nonparametric function is strictly monotone in an unobservable random term, and it satisfies some other properties that may be implied by economic theory, such as homogeneity of degree one or separability, the function and the distribution of the unobservable random term are identified. We also present convenient normalizations, to use when the properties of the function, other than strict monotonicity in the unobservable random term, are unknown. The estimators for the nonparametric function and for the distribution of the unobservable random term are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. We extend the results to functions that depend on a multivariate random term. The results of a limited simulation study are presented.     

Estimation of Nonparametric Conditional Moment Models With Possibly Nonsmooth Generalized Residuals

This paper studies nonparametric estimation of conditional moment restrictions in which the generalized residual functions can be nonsmooth in the unknown functions of endogenous variables. This is a nonparametric nonlinear instrumental variables (IV) problem. We propose a class of penalized sieve minimum distance (PSMD) estimators, which are minimizers of a penalized empirical minimum distance criterion over a collection of sieve spaces that are dense in the infinite‐dimensional function parameter space. Some of the PSMD procedures use slowly growing finite‐dimensional sieves with flexible penalties or without any penalty; others use large dimensional sieves with lower semicompact and/or convex penalties. We establish their consistency and the convergence rates in Banach space norms (such as a sup‐norm or a root mean squared norm), allowing for possibly noncompact infinite‐dimensional parameter spaces. For both mildly and severely ill‐posed nonlinear inverse problems, our convergence rates in Hilbert space norms (such as a root mean squared norm) achieve the known minimax optimal rate for the nonparametric mean IV regression. We illustrate the theory with a nonparametric additive quantile IV regression. We present a simulation study and an empirical application of estimating nonparametric quantile IV Engel curves.     

半参数空间ZISF的估计、分类与蒙特卡罗模拟

零无效率随机前沿模型（ZISF）包含随机前沿模型和回归模型，两模型各有一定的发生概率，适用于技术无效生产单元和技术有效生产单元同时存在的情形。本文在ZISF的生产函数中引入空间效应和非参函数，并假设回归模型的发生概率为非参函数，构建了半参数空间ZISF。该模型可有效避免忽略空间效应导致的有偏且不一致估计量，也避免了线性模型的拟合不足。本文对非参函数采用B样条逼近，使用极大似然方法和JLMS法分别估计参数和技术效率。蒙特卡罗结果表明：①本文方法的估计精度和分类精度均较高。随着样本容量的增大，精度增加。②忽略空间效应或者非参数效应，估计精度和分类精度降低，文中模型有存在必要性。③忽略发生概率的非参数效应会严重降低估计和分类精度，远大于忽略生产函数的非参数效应的影响。     

Nonparametric Estimation of Triangular Simultaneous Equations Models

This paper presents a simple two-step nonparametric estimator for a triangular simultaneous equation model. Our approach employs series approximations that exploit the additive structure of the model. The first step comprises the nonparametric estimation of the reduced form and the corresponding residuals. The second step is the estimation of the primary equation via nonparametric regression with the reduced form residuals included as a regressor. We derive consistency and asymptotic normality results for our estimator, including optimal convergence rates. Finally we present an empirical example, based on the relationship between the hourly wage rate and annual hours worked, which illustrates the utility of our approach.     

MORAL HAZARD AND DYNAMIC INSURANCE DATA

This paper exploits dynamic features of insurance contracts in the empirical analysis of moral hazard. We first show that experience rating implies negative occurrence dependence under moral hazard: individual claim intensities decrease with the number of past claims. We then show that dynamic insurance data allow to distinguish this moral‐hazard effect from dynamic selection on unobservables. We develop nonparametric tests and estimate a flexible parametric model. We find no evidence of moral hazard in French car insurance. Our analysis contributes to a recent literature based on static data that has problems distinguishing between moral hazard and selection and dealing with dynamic features of actual insurance contracts. Methodologically, this paper builds on and extends the literature on state dependence and heterogeneity in event‐history data. (JEL: D82, G22, C41, C14)     

短期利率跳跃-扩散模型的非参数门限估计

跳跃行为是短期利率动态过程的一个重要特征,跳跃-扩散模型能更好的描述短期利率行为。本文应用非参数门限估计对短期利率的跳跃-扩散模型进行了仿真实验和实证分析。仿真实验表明,门限估计能有效消除传统非参数估计对跳跃-扩散模型的估计偏差,估计参数具有无偏性。对上海银行间同业拆借利率(Shibor)的实证分析发现,门限估计有效探测到了短期Shibor的跳跃行为,且这种跳跃行为和宏微观的经济金融现象相一致。最后和扩散模型的实证比较得到,基于门限估计的跳跃-扩散模型对短期利率分布的偏度和峰度的拟合能力更优。     

稳健非参数VaR建模及风险量化研究

参数VaR模型被广泛应用于风险测量中,然而需要给出具体的结构形式,这就容易发生模型错误设定的灾难,使风险计量的精确性易于产生较大偏差。针对参数VaR模型的设定误差问题,本文构建了SQ-ARCH和Nop-Quantile两个非参数VaR模型,诣在提高传统风险计量模型的灵活性、稳定性和准确性。采用稳健的分位数回归方法,得到了计算这两个VaR模型的具体表达式并给出了模型估计的算法和步骤。Monte Carlo模拟发现无论模型正确还是错误设定非参数VaR模型比参数ARCH类VaR模型更稳健。此外,把这两个稳健非参数VaR模型应用于我国股票市场风险量化的实证分析中。研究结果表明稳健非参数VaR模型比参数ARCH类VaR模型度量风险更准确。     

Twicing Kernels and a Small Bias Property of Semiparametric Estimators

The purpose of this note is to show how semiparametric estimators with a small bias property can be constructed. The small bias property (SBP) of a semiparametric estimator is that its bias converges to zero faster than the pointwise and integrated bias of the nonparametric estimator on which it is based. We show that semiparametric estimators based on twicing kernels have the SBP. We also show that semiparametric estimators where nonparametric kernel estimation does not affect the asymptotic variance have the SBP. In addition we discuss an interpretation of series and sieve estimators as idempotent transformations of the empirical distribution that helps explain the known result that they lead to the SBP. In Monte Carlo experiments we find that estimators with the SBP have mean‐square error that is smaller and less sensitive to bandwidth than those that do not have the SBP.     

An Adaptive,Rate‐Optimal Test of a Parametric Mean‐Regression Model Against a Nonparametric Alternative

We develop a new test of a parametric model of a conditional mean function against a nonparametric alternative. The test adapts to the unknown smoothness of the alternative model and is uniformly consistent against alternatives whose distance from the parametric model converges to zero at the fastest possible rate. This rate is slower than n^−1/2. Some existing tests have nontrivial power against restricted classes of alternatives whose distance from the parametric model decreases at the rate n^−1/2. There are, however, sequences of alternatives against which these tests are inconsistent and ours is consistent. As a consequence, there are alternative models for which the finite‐sample power of our test greatly exceeds that of existing tests. This conclusion is illustrated by the results of some Monte Carlo experiments.     

Nonparametric Estimation with Nonlinear Budget Sets

Choice models with nonlinear budget sets provide a precise way of accounting for the nonlinear tax structures present in many applications. In this paper we propose a nonparametric approach to estimation of these models. The basic idea is to think of the choice, in our case hours of labor supply, as being a function of the entire budget set. Then we can do nonparametric regression where the variable in the regression is the budget set. We reduce the dimensionality of this problem by exploiting structure implied by utility maximization with piecewise linear convex budget sets. This structure leads to estimators where the number of segments can differ across observations and does not affect accuracy. We give consistency and asymptotic normality results for these estimators. The usefulness of the estimator is demonstrated in an empirical example, where we find it has a large impact on estimated effects of the Swedish tax reform.     

Semi‐Nonparametric IV Estimation of Shape‐Invariant Engel Curves

This paper studies a shape‐invariant Engel curve system with endogenous total expenditure, in which the shape‐invariant specification involves a common shift parameter for each demographic group in a pooled system of nonparametric Engel curves. We focus on the identification and estimation of both the nonparametric shapes of the Engel curves and the parametric specification of the demographic scaling parameters. The identification condition relates to the bounded completeness and the estimation procedure applies the sieve minimum distance estimation of conditional moment restrictions, allowing for endogeneity. We establish a new root mean squared convergence rate for the nonparametric instrumental variable regression when the endogenous regressor could have unbounded support. Root‐n asymptotic normality and semiparametric efficiency of the parametric components are also given under a set of “low‐level” sufficient conditions. Our empirical application using the U.K. Family Expenditure Survey shows the importance of adjusting for endogeneity in terms of both the nonparametric curvatures and the demographic parameters of systems of Engel curves.