In this paper we discuss sensitivity of forecasts with respect to the information set considered in prediction; a sensitivity measure called impact factor, IF, is defined. This notion is specialized to the case of VAR processes integrated of order 0, 1 and 2. For stationary VARs this measure corresponds to the sum of the impulse response coefficients. For integrated VAR systems, the IF has a di...

JEL classification: C65, D63, D71, D81 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 91B16

This paper addresses issue of sensitivity of efficiency classification of variable returns to scale (VRS) technology for enhancing the credibility of data envelopment analysis (DEA) results in practical applications when an additional decision making unit (DMU) needs to be added to the set being considered. It also develops a structured approach to assisting practitioners in making an appropria...

Heterogeneous Treatment Effects: Instrumental Variables without Monotonicity? A fundamental identification problem in program evaluation arises when idiosyncratic gains from participation and the treatment decision depend on each other. Imbens and Angrist (1994) were the first to exploit a monotonicity condition in order to identify an average treatment effect parameter using instrumental varia...

This paper asks how well a general equilibrium agency cost model describes the dynamic relationship between credit variables and the business cycle. A Bayesian VAR is used to obtain probability intervals for empirical correlations. The agency cost model is found to predict the leading, countercyclical correlation of spreads with output when shocks arising from the credit market contribute to ou...

This paper focuses on nonparametric efficiency analysis based on robust estimation of partial frontiers in a complete multivariate setup (multiple inputs and multiple outputs). It introduces a-quantile efficiency scores. A nonparametric estimator is proposed achieving strong consistency and asymptotic normality. Then if a increases to one as a function of the sample size we recover the properti...

Politico-Economic Causes of Labor Regulation in the United States: Rent Seeking, Alliances, Raising Rivals’ Costs (Even Lowering One’s Own?), and Interjurisdictional Competition This paper offers an eclectic survey of the political economy of labor regulation in the United States at federal and state levels along the dimensions of occupational health and safety, unjust dismissal, right-to-work,...

the aim of this study was to propose a method for improving the power of recognition and classification of thromboembolic syndrome based on the analysis of ‎ gene expression data using artificial neural networks. the studied method was performed on a dataset which contained data about 117 patients admitted to a hospital in durham in 2009. of all the studied patients, 66 patients were suffering ...

This paper contributes to the supply chain contracts literature in economics and operations by performing qualitative sensitivity analysis of a wholesale price contract in a two-echelon supply chain setting. Ordertheory tools are used to derive sufficient conditions for monotonicity of contract parameters. The upstream supplier is modeled as a Stackelberg leader. The supplier is assumed to have...

the present study was designed to develop a preliminatory cognitive screeting test battery for differentiating brain damaged patients, from psychiatric patients and normal subjects.based on previous researches, the items scales, administraion and scoring instructions for the test battery were prepared. the test included the following scales: attention, memory, construction ability, receptive la...