H. Gregg Lewis Memorial Comments

Economic

The Empirical Content of Nash-Bargained Household Behavior

In households whose allocation decisions can be represented as Nash-bargained household decisions, extrahousehold environmental parameters (EEPs) serve as pure shifters of the threat points. The comparative statics of changes in demands due to changes in these EEPs are given. These are incorporated into a comprehensive statement of the empirical content of Nash-bargained household behavior, including a Nash generalization of Barten's (1966) fundamental matrix equation of the theory of consumer demand. Estimation and data requirements are discussed along with nested testing of the following structure: the neoclassical model is nested in the Nash-bargained model which, in turn, is nested in an unrestricted model of household demands. Emphasized throughout is the enriched menu of explanatory variables for demand analysis provided by the Nash model, as well as the model's ability to jointly analyze (i) household formation and (ii) intrahousehold allocation decisions.

Additive General Error Models for Production, Cost, and Derived Demand or Share Systems.

Many empirical studies of production specify a deterministic model of the firm, derive the implied behavioral equat ions (input demand or share system), and then "embed this system in a stochastic framework" by tacking on linear error terms. In contras t, this paper proposes general error models (GEMs) in which the error specification is an integral part of the optimization model. These m odels are the statistical embodiment of Stigler's view that apparent observed inefficiencies reflect the investigator's ignorance of the t rue optimization problems. Additive GEMs are proposed and interpreted Specification tests indicate that a translog additive GEM is superi or to the standard translog specification. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.