Econometric models are made up of assumptions which never exactly match reality. Among the most contested ones is the requirement that the coefficients of an econometric model remain stable over time. Recent years have therefore seen numerous attempts to test for it or to model possible structural change when it can no longer be ignored. This collection of papers from Empirical Economics mirrors part of this development. The point of departure of most studies in this volume is the standard linear regression model Yt = x;fJt + U (t = I, ..., 1), t where notation is obvious and where the index...

This volume evolved from a conference on "Financial Markets Economet- rics" held at the ZEW (Zentrum fiir Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung) in Mannheim, Germany in February, 1992. However, not all papers included in this volume were presented at the conference. In some cases the papers are follow-up papers to the ones presented. The purpose of the conference was to bring together researchers from several European countries to discuss their applications of recent economet- ric methods to the analysis of financial markets. From a methodological point of view the main emphasis of the conference...

A number of advances have taken place in panel data analysis during the pastthree decades and it continues to be one of the most active areas of research. This volume contains 13 significant contributions focusing on modelling strategies, data issues, theoretical analysis and applications. Applied econometrics papers on the economics of labor, health, telecommunications, finance and macroeconomics are provided as well as a survey of recent theoretical developments in panal data analysis. Contributors include both well known scholars and younger researchers from Australia, Canada, Europe and...

Traditional trade theory explains trade only by differences between countries, notably differences in their relative endowments of factors of production. It suggests an inverse relationship between the similarity of countries and the volume of trade between them. The Heckscher-Ohlin (HO) factor propor tions theory derives the determinants of comparative advantage in a world of "two-ness" (two goods, two factors, two countries). It predicts that each country will export that good which uses the country's abundant factor rel atively most intensively. The literature on trade offers an impressive...

Rising unemployment has become one of the most challenging problems for economic policy in many developed economies over the last fifteen years. In the second half of the 1970s and during the first half of the 1980s the labour market situation worsened dramatically. For the OECD area as a whole, unemployment as a percentage of the civilian labour force went up from 3.3 percent in 1974 to 8.1 percent in 1985. The increase in unemployment rates was even more pronounced for OECD-Europe, where it climbed from 3.3 percent to 10.5 percent in this period. Table 1.1: Unemployment Rates in some aECD...

This volume is devoted to the hysteresis phenomenon in economic relationships. This topic has received renewed attention in economics especially in the late eigh ties. Since the issue is not settled there is still a growing literature on it. The aim of this volume is to summarize the findings, present new results, and to draw attention to further research. All papers are written for this volume and are not published elsewhere. I am very grateful to all authors and referees without whose prompt and generous help this volume would not appear in the present form. A short summary of each paper is...

Thisbookisacollectionofeightpapersthatwerepublished in aspecial symposium issueofEmpirical Economicsdur- ing 1999. These papers cover several areasofinterest in contemporary public economics, including tax incidence, underground economy, welfare system, fiscal federalism, public infrastructure and the growth of government. The contributionsutilizeavarietyofquantitativetoolsofanaly- sis,includingappliedeconometrics,appliedgeneralequilib- rium modeling analysis, technical efficiency analysis and institutional analysis. The introductory essay in the book summarizes the contributionsofapplied...

This book contains eleven articles which provide empirical applications as well as theoretical extensions of some of the most exciting recent developments in time-series econometrics. The papers are grouped around three broad themes: (I) the modeling of multivariate times series; (II) the analysis of structural change; (III) seasonality and fractional integration. Since these themes are closely inter-related, several other topics covered are also worth stressing: vector autoregressive (VAR) models, cointegration and error-correction models, nonparametric methods in time series, and...

Over the last 20 years, applied general equilibrium (AGE) modelling has developed from a small academic research program into a routinely used policy assessment tool. Major governments and international agencies maintain AGE research groups, and call for their input to a variety of trade, tax, and other resource allocation issues. This book is a collection of papers representative of recent activity in this field. Contributions have been grouped into a methodological section, a trade section, and a section on energy issues, and this division accurately indicates the focus of the volume....

Subject and purpose of the book is the investigation of economic policy issues with the help of non-cooperative game theory.
The most important feature of our work is to look at the possible strategic interactions between various economic agents and/or institutions. We are also investigating the potential effects on efficiency and welfare if agents act in a strategic way. The method of non-cooperative game theory leads in general to results which differ from that derived in using "traditional" economic theory.