A Geometric Approach to Nonlinear Econometric Models

Conventional tests for composite hypotheses in minimum distance models can be unreliable when the relationship between the structural and reduced‐form parameters is highly nonlinear. Such nonlinearity may arise for a variety of reasons, including weak identification. In this note, we begin by studyi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andrews, Isaiah, Mikusheva, Anna
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: The Econometric Society 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106933
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0724-5428
Description
Summary:Conventional tests for composite hypotheses in minimum distance models can be unreliable when the relationship between the structural and reduced‐form parameters is highly nonlinear. Such nonlinearity may arise for a variety of reasons, including weak identification. In this note, we begin by studying the problem of testing a “curved null” in a finite‐sample Gaussian model. Using the curvature of the model, we develop new finite‐sample bounds on the distribution of minimum‐distance statistics. These bounds allow us to construct tests for composite hypotheses which are uniformly asymptotically valid over a large class of data generating processes and structural models.