http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/218415 Tue, 21 May 2013 04:56:43 GMT 2013-05-21T04:56:43Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/237249 Title: Essays in econometrics Authors: Oryshchenko, Vitaliy Abstract: This dissertation contributes to the theoretical understanding and practical application of non- and semi-parametric methods in econometrics. It consists of three chapters. The first chapter advocates the use of unsupervised statistical learning (clustering) techniques to group observations from a series of repeated cross-sections to create a pseudo-panel of group averages. This clustering method is based on features of the data space and does not require external grouping variables unlike many other methods. Using a model of enterprise training as an example, fixed eff ects panel data model is estimated using a pseudo-panel of cluster centers. Chapters 2 and 3 extend univariate kernel methods to the estimation of time-varying distributions and densities subject to moment constraints. Chapter 2 proposes a weighted kernel density estimator for a time-varying probability density function and the corresponding cumulative distribution function. Time-varying quantiles are estimated by inverting an estimate of the cumulative distribution function. Weighting schemes are derived from those used in time series modelling. Parameters, including the bandwidth, may be estimated by maximum likelihood or cross-validation. Diagnostic checks are constructed based on residuals given by the predictive cumulative distribution function. Chapter 3 considers a set-up where additional information concerning the distribution of random variables is available in the form of moment conditions. A weighted kernel density estimate reflecting the extra information is constructed by replacing the uniform weights associated with standard kernel density estimator by generalised empirical likelihood implied probabilities. This chapter shows that the resulting density estimator provides an improved approximation to the moment conditions. Moreover, a reduction in variance is achieved due to the systematic use of the extra moment information. Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/237249 2011-03-15T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226658 Title: Three approaches to measuring natural resource scarcity : theory and application to groundwater Authors: Koundouri, Phoebe Abstract: Summary Efficient pricing of a resource incorporates both marginal cost of extraction and scarcity rents. Since groundwater resources exhibit natural supply constraints, scarcity rents must be imposed on current users. Given the difficulty of establishing clear groundwater ownership rights, scarcity value frequently goes unrecognized and is difficult to estimate. This results in inefficient pricing and misallocation of the resource. This thesis builds on three different methods to develop appropriate theoretical and empirical models relevant for indirect estimation of these shadow scarcity rents, which we consider as the initial and most challenging step towards efficient groundwater management. Empirical analyses are based on economic and hydrological data from t he island of Cyprus, representative of semi-arid regions. Chapter 2 critically assesses previous theoretical and empirical attempts to derive the increase in social benefits from efficient pricing of groundwater and examines the potential for groundwater management. This potential is seriously challenged by Gisser-Sanchez's Effect (GSI): i.e. net benefits from optimally managing groundwater are insignificant for all practical purposes. Chapter 3 attempts a reexamination of GSI by developing a dynamic model of adaptation to increasing groundwater scarcity, when backstop technology is available. Both groundwater scarcity rents and management benefits are derived by simulating the optimal and competitive-commonality solutions. Results point to the absence of GSI in aquifers facing complete exhaustion in the near future. Chapter 4 proposes a refinement of revealed preference methods of valuation, by combining the hedonic and travel cost methods, and applies the refined model to derive the willingness to pay for groundwater quality. It is claimed t hat hedonic valuation of quality attributes can be misleading when the exogeneity assumption, with respect to these attributes, to sample selection is violated. Hence, the simultaneity between hedonic valuation and sample selection is modelled in the context of producer behaviour and investigated empirically in the case of land demanded for use as an input either in agricultural production or touristic development. The empirical analysis suggests that failing to correct for sample selection results in a biased valuation of groundwater quality. In chapter 5 duality theory is employed to develop the distance function methodology of deriving shadow groundwater scarcity rents. The empirical application of the model involves estimating a stochastic input distance function from which the in situ shadow price of groundwater is derived. Chapter 6 concludes the thesis by comparing and contrasting the magnitude of groundwater scarcity rents and willingness to pay for scarce groundwater quality, derived from the models put forward in this research. Mon, 23 Oct 2000 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226658 2000-10-23T23:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226114 Title: Religion and the economics of fertility in south India Authors: Iyer, Sriya Tue, 14 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/226114 2000-03-14T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/219191 Title: Should We Give Every Cow Its Calf? Monopoly, Competition and Transaction Costs in the Promotion of Innovation and Creativity Authors: Pollock, Rufus Abstract: The work presented here is part of a wider research programme oriented around three specific questions. First, how do individual agents appropriate returns from innovation and how is this affected by the availability (or not) of intellectual property rights such as copyrights and patents? Second, how does this translate into the aggregate production of knowledge, once one takes account of the interaction between producers and the cumulative nature of the process of knowledge production? Finally, How can we incorporate this into an estimate of the welfare trade-off inherent in intellectual property rights (the basic prerequisite for formulating rational IP policy)? The dissertation contains theoretical work on each of these questions together with a brief introductory preamble and a review of the existing literature on the economics of knowledge. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/219191 2008-01-22T00:00:00Z