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Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior

01 Jan 1972-pp 105-142
About: The article was published on 1972-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 15741 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Mixed logit & Choice set.
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Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the style in which their builders construct claims for a connection between these models and reality is inappropriate, to the point at which claims for identification in these models cannot be taken seriously.
Abstract: Existing strategies for econometric analysis related to macroeconomics are subject to a number of serious objections, some recently formulated, some old. These objections are summarized in this paper, and it is argued that taken together they make it unlikely that macroeconomic models are in fact over identified, as the existing statistical theory usually assumes. The implications of this conclusion are explored, and an example of econometric work in a non-standard style, taking account of the objections to the standard style, is presented. THE STUDY OF THE BUSINESS cycle, fluctuations in aggregate measures of economic activity and prices over periods from one to ten years or so, constitutes or motivates a large part of what we call macroeconomics. Most economists would agree that there are many macroeconomic variables whose cyclical fluctuations are of interest, and would agree further that fluctuations in these series are interrelated. It would seem to follow almost tautologically that statistical models involving large numbers of macroeconomic variables ought to be the arena within which macroeconomic theories confront reality and thereby each other. Instead, though large-scale statistical macroeconomic models exist and are by some criteria successful, a deep vein of skepticism about the value of these models runs through that part of the economics profession not actively engaged in constructing or using them. It is still rare for empirical research in macroeconomics to be planned and executed within the framework of one of the large models. In this lecture I intend to discuss some aspects of this situation, attempting both to offer some explanations and to suggest some means for improvement. I will argue that the style in which their builders construct claims for a connection between these models and reality-the style in which "identification" is achieved for these models-is inappropriate, to the point at which claims for identification in these models cannot be taken seriously. This is a venerable assertion; and there are some good old reasons for believing it;2 but there are also some reasons which have been more recently put forth. After developing the conclusion that the identification claimed for existing large-scale models is incredible, I will discuss what ought to be done in consequence. The line of argument is: large-scale models do perform useful forecasting and policy-analysis functions despite their incredible identification; the restrictions imposed in the usual style of identification are neither essential to constructing a model which can perform these functions nor innocuous; an alternative style of identification is available and practical. Finally we will look at some empirical work based on an alternative style of macroeconometrics. A six-variable dynamic system is estimated without using 1 Research for this paper was supported by NSF Grant Soc-76-02482. Lars Hansen executed the computations. The paper has benefited from comments by many people, especially Thomas J. Sargent

11,195 citations

Book•
24 Aug 2012
TL;DR: This textbook offers a comprehensive and self-contained introduction to the field of machine learning, based on a unified, probabilistic approach, and is suitable for upper-level undergraduates with an introductory-level college math background and beginning graduate students.
Abstract: Today's Web-enabled deluge of electronic data calls for automated methods of data analysis. Machine learning provides these, developing methods that can automatically detect patterns in data and then use the uncovered patterns to predict future data. This textbook offers a comprehensive and self-contained introduction to the field of machine learning, based on a unified, probabilistic approach. The coverage combines breadth and depth, offering necessary background material on such topics as probability, optimization, and linear algebra as well as discussion of recent developments in the field, including conditional random fields, L1 regularization, and deep learning. The book is written in an informal, accessible style, complete with pseudo-code for the most important algorithms. All topics are copiously illustrated with color images and worked examples drawn from such application domains as biology, text processing, computer vision, and robotics. Rather than providing a cookbook of different heuristic methods, the book stresses a principled model-based approach, often using the language of graphical models to specify models in a concise and intuitive way. Almost all the models described have been implemented in a MATLAB software package--PMTK (probabilistic modeling toolkit)--that is freely available online. The book is suitable for upper-level undergraduates with an introductory-level college math background and beginning graduate students.

8,059 citations


Cites methods from "Conditional logit analysis of quali..."

  • ...This is called a random utility model or RUM (McFadden 1974; Train 2009)....

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Book•
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the new generation of discrete choice methods, focusing on the many advances that are made possible by simulation, and compare simulation-assisted estimation procedures, including maximum simulated likelihood, method of simulated moments, and methods of simulated scores.
Abstract: This book describes the new generation of discrete choice methods, focusing on the many advances that are made possible by simulation. Researchers use these statistical methods to examine the choices that consumers, households, firms, and other agents make. Each of the major models is covered: logit, generalized extreme value, or GEV (including nested and cross-nested logits), probit, and mixed logit, plus a variety of specifications that build on these basics. Simulation-assisted estimation procedures are investigated and compared, including maximum simulated likelihood, method of simulated moments, and method of simulated scores. Procedures for drawing from densities are described, including variance reduction techniques such as anithetics and Halton draws. Recent advances in Bayesian procedures are explored, including the use of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm and its variant Gibbs sampling. No other book incorporates all these fields, which have arisen in the past 20 years. The procedures are applicable in many fields, including energy, transportation, environmental studies, health, labor, and marketing.

7,768 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present some empirical results of a study predicting corporate failure as evidenced by the event of bankruptcy, and the methodology is one of maximum likelihood estimation of the so-called conditional logit model, in which the data set used in this study is from the seventies (1970-76).
Abstract: This paper presents some empirical results of a study predicting corporate failure as evidenced by the event of bankruptcy. There have been a fair number of previous studies in this field of research; the more notable published contributions are Beaver [1966; 1968a; 1968b], Altman [1968; 1973], Altman and Lorris [1976], Altman and McGough [1974], Altman, Haldeman, and Narayanan [1977], Deakin [1972], Libby [1975], Blum [1974], Edmister [1972], Wilcox [1973], Moyer [1977], and Lev [1971]. Two unpublished papers by White and Turnbull [1975a; 1975b] and a paper by Santomero and Vinso [1977] are of particular interest as they appear to be the first studies which logically and systematically develop probabilistic estimates of failure. The present study is similar to the latter studies, in that the methodology is one of maximum likelihood estimation of the so-called conditional logit model. The data set used in this study is from the seventies (1970-76). I know of only three corporate failure research studies which have examined data from this period. One is a limited study by Altman and McGough [1974] in which only failed firms were drawn from the period 1970-73 and only one type of classification error (misclassification of failed firms) was analyzed. Moyer [1977] considered the period 1965-75, but the sample of bankrupt firms was unusually small (twenty-seven firms). The

5,244 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed techniques for empirically analyzing demand and supply in differentiated products markets and then applied these techniques to analyze equilibrium in the U.S. automobile industry.
Abstract: This paper develops techniques for empirically analyzing demand and supply in differentiated products markets and then applies these techniques to analyze equilibrium in the U.S. automobile industry. Our primary goal is to present a framework which enables one to obtain estimates of demand and cost parameters for a class of oligopolistic differentiated products markets. These estimates can be obtained using only widely available product-level and aggregate consumer-level data, and they are consistent with a structural model of equilibrium in an oligopolistic industry. When we apply the tech- niques developed here to the U.S. automobile market, we obtain cost and demand parameters for (essentially) all models marketed over a twenty year period.

4,803 citations


Cites background from "Conditional logit analysis of quali..."

  • ...…choice literature over the last two decades have generated much of the econometric methodology needed to use micro level data to estimate the parameters determining individual demands from this characteristics approach (e.g., McFadden (1973) and the literature he cites in his 1986 review article)....

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  • ..., J (McFadden (1973))....

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