Showing papers by "Daniel L. Millimet published in 1999"
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TL;DR: In this article, the Gibbs sampling technique and data augmentation algorithm and rejection sampling are used to solve both the dimensionality and coherency problem with rejection sampling, and the results highlight the importance of imposing regularity when there are many nonconsumed goods and the gains from imposing such conditions locally rather than globally.
Abstract: Two econometric issues arise in the estimation of complete systems of producer or consumer demands when many non-negativity constraints are binding for a large share of observations, as frequently occurs with micro-level data The first is computational The econometric model is essentially an endogenous switching regimes model which requires the evaluation of multivariate probability integrals The second is the relationship between demand theory and statistical coherency If the indirect utility or cost function underlying the demand system does not satisfy the regularity conditions at each observation, the likelihood is incoherent in that the sum of the probabilities for all demand regimes is not unity and maximum likelihood estimates are inconsistent The solution presented is to use the Gibbs Sampling technique and data augmentation algorithm and rejection sampling, to solve both the dimensionality and coherency problem With rejection sampling one can straightforwardly impose only the necessary conditions for coherency, coherency at each data point rather than global coherency The method is illustrated with a series of simulated demand systems derived from the translog indirect random utility function The results highlight the importance of imposing regularity when there are many non-consumed goods and the gains from imposing such conditions locally rather than globally
19 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the concepts of an environmental Gini coefficient along with a measure of "pollution elasticity" are introduced and used to analyze the distribution of pollution across U.S. states from 1988 - 1996.
Abstract: The concepts of an environmental Gini coefficient along with a measure of ''pollution elasticity'' are introduced and used to analyze the distribution of pollution across U.S. states from 1988 -- 1996. The special properties of the Gini coefficient allow one to decompose overall pollution inequality into several components based on pollution type and predict the effects on overall pollution inequality from stricter regulations on particular types of emissions. In addition, an environmental welfare function -- analogous to Sen's social welfare function -- is derived and used along with the extended Gini to analyze the impact of tighter environmental regulations on different types of emissions. Finally, Spearman correlations between per capita emissions and state attributes are used to assess whether states at the upper tail of the pollution distribution are randomly assigned. The emissions data is obtained from the U.S. EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).
5 citations
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TL;DR: This article presented a simple model which reconciles the intuitively appealing taxation approach to economic growth with these seemingly contradictory empirical findings, and found an empirically robust relationship between high taxes and growth.
Abstract: Several recent papers addressing the role of income distribution in the growth process have focused on the role income inequality plays in the political process. Inequality is linked to pressure for high, redistributionary tax rates, which lead to low investment and therefore growth. Empirically, the correlation between high inequality and low growth has been robust. However, the intermediate step linking inequality to high taxes has not been empirically supported, and the link between taxes and growth has been found to be the opposite of that suggested by theory: an empirically robust relationship has been found between high taxes and growth. This paper presents a simple model which reconciles the intuitively appealing taxation approach to economic growth with these seemingly contradictory empirical findings.
2 citations
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TL;DR: In the absence of typical exclusion restrictions, covariance restrictions are used to obtain estimates of the effects of children on household behavior as mentioned in this paper. But the results show that children have a significant impact on many household decisions and that if the average household had one less child, the male-female wage differential would decrease by 9.5 %.
Abstract: In the absence of typical exclusion restrictions, covariance restrictions are used to obtain estimates of the effects of children on household behaviour. Using data from the PSID on two age samples, children are found to have a significant impact on many household decisions. However, while in the young sample exogenous fertility cannot be rejected, in the older sample this is not the case. Finally, if the average household had one less child, the male-female wage differential would decrease by 9.5 %. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
1 citations