As emphasized by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco, the policy challenge of boosting growth requires prioritization and identifying what are the most binding constraints. This paper draws on firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, which suggests that the obstacles for the functioning of firms is related to firm size. Recognizing the potential endogeneity and simultaneity between firms...

Diagnostic tests for normality, heteroscedasticity and structural stability are reported for an ordered probit model applied to an English league soccer match results data set. The unsystematic component in match results is found to be normal and homoscedastic, but the ordered probit model parameters reflecting relative team strengths are found to change significantly within the soccer season. ...

This paper develops an index of internationalisation or foreign expansion index (FEI) of the firm. The FEI integrates various dimensions of internationalisation that, although interrelated, have usually been analyzed independently, e.g., exports and FDI. Because of its prominent interfirm relationships and North-South discrepancies, this study focuses on Italy, constructing FEIs for each of som...

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological factors and walking behavior in order to provide evidence supporting the implementation of measures for behavioral change for the success of urban planning initiatives. The acceptable walking distance is selected as an intermediate variable between psychological factors and actual walking distance. The results indica...

The focus of this paper is on the relationship between an individual’s environmental attitudes (or awareness) and well-being. We use an ordered probit model to examine the relationship between individual measures of subjective well-being and environmental attitudes regarding ozone pollution and species extinction. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey we find a negative correlation...

Even in the face of a continuously changing economic environment, interest rates often remain unadjusted for long periods. When rates are moved, the norm is for a series of small unidirectional discrete basis-point changes. To explain these phenomena we suggest a two-equation system combining a “long-run” equation explaining a binary decision to change or not change the interest-rate, and a “sh...

Utilizing economic theory, this paper tests the proposition that intellectual property rights and competition policy are complementary policies. An ordered probit model is applied to a sample of over 4,000 firms in 36 countries in order to estimate the marginal effects of the use and quality of enforcement of intellectual property rights on a measure of the degree of seriousness of competition ...

MNP is a publicly available R package that fits the Bayesian multinomial probit model via Markov chain Monte Carlo. The multinomial probit model is often used to analyze the discrete choices made by individuals recorded in survey data. Examples where the multinomial probit model may be useful include the analysis of product choice by consumers in market research and the analysis of candidate or...

The paper provides probability estimates of the state of the GDP growth. A regime-switching model defines the probability of the Greek GDP being in boom or recession. Then probit models extract the predictive information of a set of explanatory (economic and financial) variables regarding the state of the GDP growth. A contemporaneous, as well as a lagged, relationship between the explanatory v...

A rich class of parametric models is proposed for discrete choice data based on the scale mixture of multivariate normal distributions. The multinomial probit model is a special case in the class. The new models can be implemented in a Bayesian framework without much difficulty because of their special connections to the multinomial probit model. A Gibbs sampler with data augmentation is used t...