Three Essays on Spatial Econometric Models with Missing Data PDF Download

Author: Wei Wang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Get Book Here

Book Description
Abstract: This dissertation is composed of three essays on spatial econometric models with missing data. Spatial models that have a long history in regional science and geography have received substantial attention in various areas of economics recently. Applications of spatial econometric models prevail in urban, developmental and labor economics among others. In practice, an issue that researchers often face is the missing data problem. Although many solutions such as list-wise deletion and EM algorithm can be found in literature, most of them are either not suited for spatial models or hard to apply due to technical difficulties. My research focuses on the estimation of the spatial econometric models in the presence of missing data problems. The first chapter develops a GMM method based on linear moments for the estimation of mixed regressive, spatial autoregressive (MRSAR) models with missing observations in the dependent variables. The estimation method uses the expectation of the missing data, as a function of the observed independent variables and the parameters to be estimated, to replace the missing data themselves in the estimation. The proposed GMM estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. Feasible optimal weighting matrix for the GMM estimation is given. We extend our estimation method to MRSAR models with heteroskedastic disturbances, high order MRSAR models and unbalanced spatial panel data models with random effects as well. From these extensions, we see that the proposed GMM method has more compatibility, compared with the conventional EM algorithm. The second chapter considers a group interaction model first proposed by Lee (2006); this model is a special case of the spatial autoregressive (SAR) models. It is a first attempt to estimate the model in a more general random sample setting, i.e. a framework in which only a random sample rather than the whole population in a group is available. We incorporate group heteroskedasticity along with the endogenous, exogenous and group fixed effects in the model. We prove that, under some basic assumptions and certain identification conditions, the quasi maximum likelihood (QML) estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal when the functional form of the group heteroskedasticity is known. Two types of misspecifications are considered, and, under each, the estimators are inconsistent. We also propose IV estimation in the case that the group heteroskedasticity is unknown. A LM test of group heteroskedasticity is given at the end. The third chapter considers the same group interaction model as that in the second chapter, but focuses on the large group interaction case and uses a random effects setting for the group specific characters. A GMM estimation framework using moment conditions from both within and between equations is applied to the model. We prove that under some basic assumptions and certain identification conditions, the GMM estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal, and the convergence rates of the estimators are higher than those of the estimators derived from the within equations only. Feasible optimal GMM estimators are proposed.