Efficient Management of Multi-Frequency Panel Data with Stata

Abstract

This presentation discusses how the tasks involved with carrying out a sizable research project, involving panel data at both monthly and daily frequencies, could be efficiently managed by making use of built-in and user-contributed features of Stata. The project entails the construction of a dataset of cross-country monthly measures for 18 nations, and the evaluation of bilateral economic activity between each distinct pair of countries. One measure of volatility, at a monthly frequency, is calculated from daily spot exchange rate data, and effectively merged back to the monthly dataset. Nonlinear least squares models are estimated for every distinct bilateral relationship, and the results of those 300+ models organized for further analysis and production of summary tables and graphics using a postfile. The various labor-saving techniques used to carry out this research will be discussed, with emphasis on the generality that allows additional countries, time periods, and data to be integrated with the panel dataset with ease.