This paper considers the problem of how to construct price indexes on a panel data set. First a suitable panel data set is constructed by merging Eurostat’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) with a cross-section of OECD data. Second, seven different methods for constructing price indexes on a panel are proposed. These are then applied to the merged HICP/OECD data set. Temporal and spat...

Because of bacterial resistance, current antibiotic consumption is reinforced by past use, and future utility is lower. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence on habit and addictive behavior toward antibiotics by exploring variations in the average consumption of antibiotics across 20 Italian regions. Using a balanced panel dataset (2000-2009), we estimate myopic and rational addict...

When making decisions, agents tend to make use of decisions others have made in similar situations. Ignoring this behavior in empirical models can be interpreted as a problem of omitted variables and may seriously bias parameter estimates and harm inference. We suggest a possibility of integrating such outside in uences into models of discrete choice decisions by de ning an abstract space in wh...

This paper considers the measurement of firm’s specific (in)efficiency while allows for the possible heterogeneous technologies adopted by different firms. A flexible stochastic frontier model with random coefficients is proposed to distinguish technical inefficiency from technological differences across firms. Posterior inference of the model is made possible via the simulation-based approach,...

This paper empirically analyzes the influence of road proximity on HIVinfection using geographical data on road infrastructure and the Demographic and Health Surveys collected in six African countries. Firstly we show that living in proximity to a major road increases the individual risk of infection. This observed relationship is found to be sensitive to the use of the road and to be robust af...

This paper studies whether conformism behavior affects individual outcomes in crime. We present a social network model of peer effects with ex-ante heterogeneous agents and show how conformism and deterrence affect criminal activities. We then bring the model to the data by using a very detailed dataset of adolescent friendship networks. A novel social network-based empirical strategy allows us...

According to the pollution haven effect (PHE) mobile capital responds to environmental regulation by moving from countries with high regulation to those with low regulation. Previous tests of the PHE have focused on host country regulation effect. This study also examines the effect of home country regulation on foreign direct investment (FDI). I use a panel of 28 OECD countries for 1981-2000 t...

Exploiting Regional Treatment Intensity for the Evaluation of Labour Market Policies We estimate the effects of active labour market policies (ALMP) on subsequent employment by nonparametric instrumental variables and matching estimators. Very informative administrative Swiss data with detailed regional information are combined with exogenous regional variation in programme participation probab...

This paper provides a systematic analysis of identification in linear social interactions models. This is both a theoretical and an econometric exercise as the analysis is linked to a rigorously delineated model of interdependent decisions. We develop an incomplete information game that describes individual choices in the presence of social interactions. The equilibrium strategy profiles are li...

Viewpoint: Estimating the Causal Effects of Policies and Programs* Estimation, inference and interpretation of the causal effects of programs and policies have all advanced dramatically over the past 25 years. We highlight three particularly important intellectual trends: an improved appreciation of the substantive importance of heterogeneous responses and of their methodological implications, ...