This paper presents and describes a large, monthly frequency, macroeconomic database with the goal of establishing a convenient starting point for empirical analysis that requires ”Big Data.” The dataset mimics the coverage of those already used in the literature but has three appealing features. First, it is designed to be updated in real-time using the FRED database. Second, it will be public...

Using a standard factor decomposition of a panel of forecasts, we have shown that the forecast uncertainty from the standpoint of a policy maker can be expressed as the disagreement among forecasters plus the perceived variability of common aggregate shocks. Thus, the uncertainty of the average forecast is not the variance of the average forecast but rather the average of the variances of the i...

This paper suggests a new semi-parametric multivariate approach to seasonal adjustment. The primary innovation is to use a large dimensional factor model of cross section dependence to estimate the trend component in the seasonal decomposition of each time series. Because the trend component is speci…ed to capture covariation between the time series, common changes in the level of the time seri...

Genes that encode for enzymes that can degrade petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) are critical for the ability of microorganisms to bioremediate soils contaminated with PHs. Distributions of two petroleum-degrading genes AlkB and Nah in soils collected from three zones of the Dagang Oilfield, Tianjin, China were investigated. Numbers of copies of AlkB ranged between 9.1 × 10(5) and 1.9 × 10(7) copies...

Elastic properties of tendon were assessed by two different approaches. Six fresh bovine Achilles tendon specimens were used. The first approach directly measured Young’s modulus along the transverse direction (Eperpendicular) and the longitudinal direction (Eparallel), using a cyclic compression–relaxation method. Young’s moduli were derived based on the measured strain and stress values. The ...

In this paper I estimate empirical growth models simultaneously considering endogenous regressors and model uncertainty. In order to apply Bayesian methods such as Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to dynamic panel data models with predetermined or endogenous variables and fixed effects, I propose a likelihood function for such models. The resulting maximum likelihood estimator can be interpreted ...

Are Youths on Income Support Less Happy? Evidence from Australia The central research question addressed in this paper is how receipt of income support payments affects the well-being of youths. Using 1997-2004 panel data from a nationally representative survey of Australian youths, we attempt to estimate the size of the welfare stigma faced by Australian youths, where stigma is defined as the ...

This paper presents the nonlinear IV methodology as an effective inferential basis for nonstationary panels. The nonlinear IV method resolves the inferential difficulties in testing for unit roots arising from the intrinsic heterogeneities and cross-dependencies of panel models. Individual units are allowed to be dependent through correlations among innovations, interrelatedness of short-run dy...

From high-precision Brillouin spectroscopy measurements, six elastic constants (C11, C33, C44, C66, C12, and C14) of a flux-grown GeO2 single crystal with the α-quartz-like structure are obtained in the 298-1273 K temperature range. High-temperature powder X-ray diffraction data is collected to determine the temperature dependence of the lattice parameters and the volume thermal expansion coeff...