Inverse Probability Weighted Generalised Empirical Likelihood Estimators: Firm Size and R&D Revisited

The inverse probability weighted Generalised Empirical Likelihood (IPW-GEL) estimator is proposed for the estimation of the parameters of a vector of possibly non-linear unconditional moment functions in the presence of conditionally independent sample selection or attrition.The estimator is applied to the estimation of the firm size elasticity of product and process R&D expenditures using a panel of German manufacturing firms, which is affected by attrition and selection into R&D activities.IPW-GEL and IPW-GMM estimators are compared in this application as well as identification assumptions based on independent and conditionally independent sample selection.The results are similar in all specifications.research and development;generalised emperical likelihood;inverse probability weighting;propensity score;conditional independence;missing at random;selection;attrition

Inverse Probability Weighted Generalised Empirical Likelihood Estimators:Firm Size and R&D Revisited

The inverse probability weighted Generalised Empirical Likelihood (IPW-GEL) estimator is proposed for the estimation of the parameters of a vector of possibly non-linear unconditional moment functions in the presence of conditionally independent sample selection or attrition.The estimator is applied to the estimation of the firm size elasticity of product and process R&D expenditures using a panel of German manufacturing firms, which is affected by attrition and selection into R&D activities.IPW-GEL and IPW-GMM estimators are compared in this application as well as identification assumptions based on independent and conditionally independent sample selection.The results are similar in all specifications.

Can the Life Insurance Market Provide Evidence for a Bequest Motive?

Can the Life Insurance Market Provide Evidence for a Bequest Motive? Using U.K. microeconomic data, we analyze the empirical determinants of participation in the life insurance market. We \u85nd that term insurance demand is positively correlated with measures of bequest motives like being married, having children and/or subjective measures of strong bequest motives. We then show that a life-cycle model of life insurance demand, saving and portfolio choice can rationalize quantitatively the data in the presence of a bequest motive. These \u85ndings provide evidence supporting the presence of a bequest motive. JEL Classi\u85cation: E21, G11. Key Words: Portfolio choice, life insurance, bequest motive

Can the Life Insurance Market Provide Evidence for a Bequest Motive?

Alla borde vara feminister av Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delades ut till Sveriges gymnasietvåor läsåret 2015/2016 med en medföljande lärarhandledning. I den här uppsatsen berättar elever och lärare om sina erfarenheter av boken och undervisning utifrån den. Halvstrukturerande intervjuer, en enkät och en fokusgrupp har använts för att samla in materialet som sedan analyserats tematiskt utifrån Freires kritiska pedagogik, Spivaks postkoloniala perspektiv och Kumashiros teorier om lärande genom kris. Både elever och lärare vittnar om ämnets och undervisningens angelägenhet och förändrande potential, men också om riskerna med att undervisningen reproducerar svenskhet som det jämställda och vice versa. Ett par slutsatser är att ett historiskt perspektiv kan bidra till att få normer och strukturer att framstå som föränderliga, och ett postkolonialt perspektiv kan behövas för att sexism inte oproblematiserat ska tillskrivas den etniske Andre, något som flera andraspråkselever vittnar om. Vidare diskuteras det didaktiska värdet med en intersektionell analys och att låta eleverna själva formulera problemen som undervisningen tar sin utgångspunkt i

Managing Financially Distressed Pension Plans in the Interest of Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of a corporate defined benefit pension plan in financial distress care about the security of their promised pensions. We propose to value the pension obligations of a corporate defined benefit plan using a discount rate that reflects the funding ability of the pension plan and its sponsoring company, and therefore depends, in part, on the chosen asset allocation. An optimal valuation is determined by a strategic asset allocation that is optimal given the risk premium a representative pension plan member demands for being exposed to funding risk. We provide an empirical application using the General Motors pension plan

The First Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has validated and made publicly available its First Data Release. This consists of 2099 square degrees of five-band (u, g, r, i, z) imaging data, 186,240 spectra of galaxies, quasars, stars and calibrating blank sky patches selected over 1360 square degrees of this area, and tables of measured parameters from these data. The imaging data go to a depth of r ~ 22.6 and are photometrically and astrometrically calibrated to 2% rms and 100 milli-arcsec rms per coordinate, respectively. The spectra cover the range 3800--9200 A, with a resolution of 1800--2100. Further characteristics of the data are described, as are the data products themselves.Comment: Submitted to The Astronomical Journal. 16 pages. For associated documentation, see http://www.sdss.org/dr