Testing the foreign aid-led growth hypothesis in West Africa

This paper assesses the foreign aid-led growth hypothesis in a panel of West African countries using panel cointegration techniques ( Pendroni Residual Cointegration Test, Error Correction Model, Johansen Fisher Panel Cointegration Test) and then on a country-by-country basis using time series cointegration techniques (Engle-Granger test, Error Correction Model , Johansen system cointegration test). The panel cointegration results indicate a long run relationship between aid and growth in the whole panel. For the individual countries, at least one test showed evidence of this long run relationship. Granger causality tests were done for the whole panel and then for each country individually to establish direction of causality between foreign aid and economic growth. There is evidence of unidirectional causality from foreign aid to economic growth, from economic growth to foreign aid and there are cases where both variables are independent. A simplified variation of the Chenery and Strout Two-Gap Model was estimated to test the impact of foreign aid and selected explanatory variables on economic growth in countries where aid was found to granger cause growth and this impact varied from country to country

The Minimum Distance Estimation with Multiple Integral in Panel Data

This paper studies the minimum distance estimation problem for panel data model. We propose the minimum distance estimators of regression parameters of the panel data model and investigate their asymptotic distributions. This paper contains two main contributions. First, the domain of application of the minimum distance estimation method is extended to the panel data model. Second, the proposed estimators are more efficient than other existing ones. Simulation studies compare performance of the proposed estimators with performance of others and demonstrate some superiority of our estimators.Comment: Minimum distance estimation; panel dat

Testing the NEG model: further evidence from panel data

Local wage variations in the UK are explained by two non-nested rival hypotheses. The first derives from new economic geography theory, in which wages depend on market potential. The second come from urban economics theory, giving a reduced form with wage rates dependent on employment density. The paper examines whether one of these rivals is encompassed by the other by fitting an artificial nesting model using three alternative panel data estimators. The estimates indicate that neither hypothesis is encompassed by its rival, suggesting a need for new, more comprehensive, theory

Application of distorted models in developing scaled structural models

In the design and development of dynamically similar structural models a distorted model of the panel is used. The panel thickness is made larger than that dictated by geometric scaling, and the mass of the panel is decreased by adding mass to the surface of the panel to counteract the additional stiffness obtained by the thickness increase

A finite element approach to the prediction of sound transmission through panels with acoustic resonators

Previous research by the authors has shown that sound radiated by a vibrating panel can be reduced considerably by using tuned acoustic resonators. The length of the tube resonators determines the frequency range in which sound is reduced. The shape of the spectrum is determined by the ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the resonators to the area of the panel. Maximum sound reduction is achieved if the volume velocities at the surface of the vibrating panel and those at the entrance of the resonators are equal in magnitude but opposite in phase. Up to now, the effect of the resonators on the radiated sound has been studied with a one-dimensional analytical model. In this paper, a three-dimensional acousto-elastic model is developed using the finite element method. The purpose of this model is to study the influence of the flexibility and the boundaries of the panel, as well as the presence of rooms behind and in front of the panel on the sound transmission. Modelling the complete structure, including the resonators and the interaction with the air inside the resonators, is computationally expensive. Therefore, an alternative approach is developed. Because of the repetitive pattern of resonators in the panel, the structural part of the panel is modelled with superelements. To enable coupling between the structural part of the model and the air behind and in front of the panel, a new interface element is derived. The formulation of this interface element also includes the acoustic behaviour of the resonators. Sound transmission loss calculations are made for one configuration and the results are compared with the results obtained with a one-dimensional analytical model

A Nonlinear Panel Data Model of Cross-Sectional Dependence

This paper proposes a nonlinear panel data model which can generate endogenously both `weak' and `strong' cross-sectional dependence. The model's distinguishing characteristic is that a given agent's behaviour is influenced by an aggregation of the views or actions of those around them. The model allows for considerable flexibility in terms of the genesis of this herding or clustering type behaviour. At an econometric level, the model is shown to nest various extant dynamic panel data models. These include panel AR models, spatial models, which accommodate weak dependence only, and panel models where cross-sectional averages or factors exogenously generate strong, but not weak, cross sectional dependence. An important implication is that the appropriate model for the aggregate series becomes intrinsically nonlinear, due to the clustering behaviour, and thus requires the disaggregates to be simultaneously considered with the aggregate. We provide the associated asymptotic theory for estimation and inference. This is supplemented with Monte Carlo studies and two empirical applications which indicate the utility of our proposed model as both a structural and reduced form vehicle to model different types of cross-sectional dependence, including evolving clusters.Nonlinear Panel Data Model; Clustering; Cross-section Dependence; Factor Models; Monte Carlo Simulations; Application to Stock Returns and Inflation Expectations

Threshold Effects in Cigarette Addiction: An Application of the Threshold Model in Dynamic Panels

We adopt the threshold model of myopic cigarette addiction to US state-level panel data. The threshold model is used to identify the structural effects of cigarette demand determinants across the income stratification. Furthermore, we apply a bootstrap approach to correct for the small-sample bias that arises in the dynamic panel threshold model with fixed effects. Our empirical results indicate that there exists the heterogeneity of smoking dynamics across consumers.Cigarettes demand, price elasticity, threshold regression model, dynamic panel model, bias correction, bootstrap

Vortexje - An Open-Source Panel Method for Co-Simulation

This paper discusses the use of the 3-dimensional panel method for dynamical system simulation. Specifically, the advantages and disadvantages of model exchange versus co-simulation of the aerodynamics and the dynamical system model are discussed. Based on a trade-off analysis, a set of recommendations for a panel method implementation and for a co-simulation environment is proposed. These recommendations are implemented in a C++ library, offered on-line under an open source license. This code is validated against XFLR5, and its suitability for co-simulation is demonstrated with an example of a tethered wing, i.e, a kite. The panel method implementation and the co-simulation environment are shown to be able to solve this stiff problem in a stable fashion.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure