Estimating Precision and Recall for Deterministic and Probabilistic Record Linkage

Linking administrative, survey and census files to enhance dimensions such as time and breadth or depth of detail is now common. Because a unique person identifier is often not available, records belonging to two different units (e.g. people) may be incorrectly linked. Estimating the proportion of links that are correct, called Precision, is difficult because, even after clerical review, there will remain uncertainty about whether a link is in fact correct or incorrect. Measures of Precision are useful when deciding whether or not it is worthwhile linking two files, when comparing alternative linking strategies and as a quality measure for estimates based on the linked file. This paper proposes an estimator of Precision for a linked file that has been created by either deterministic (or rules‐based) or probabilistic (where evidence for a link being a match is weighted against the evidence that it is not a match) linkage, both of which are widely used in practice. This paper shows that the proposed estimators perform well.     

Towards an alternative theory of the advertising communication process?

Several findings reported by researchers working in quite different areas suggest that individuals may be able to receive advertising in a way which is very different from the advertising communication process. Here, some of these findings are presented. They derive from studies of picture perception, of mere exposure, of brain lateralization, of emotion formation, of attention processes, and from new approaches to content analysis. Finally, the need for a revised view on how advertising works is emphasized.     

On the nature of credit demand and credit rationing in competitive credit markets

Conventional analyses of the credit rationing problem seek to explain that problem within the context of classic demand analysis. In this paper we demonstrate that it is generally inappropriate to apply the notion of classic demand to credit markets, consequently, conventional notions of credit rationing must be rejected. In providing a new definition of credit rationing we also establish the previously rejected characterized by credit rationing.     

Ecoefficiency: Defining a role for environmental cost management

This study investigates the relationship between environmental performance and productive efficiency in the United States electric utility industry before and after the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), cross-sectional examinations reveal lower polluting plants are more efficient than higher polluting plants. Longitudinal analyses indicate plants can simultaneously reduce pollution and increase relative efficiency. Collectively, these results are evidence that proactive environmental management can reduce environmental costs and thus, lends support for adopting an environmental cost management system.     

Price cap regulation and water quality

Journal of Regulatory Economics - A number of studies suggest that price cap regulation may reduce the quality of the regulated good. This paper analyzes the impact on drinking water quality of a...     

Examining macroeconomic models through the lens of asset pricing

We develop new methods for representing the asset-pricing implications of stochastic general equilibrium models. We provide asset-pricing counterparts to impulse response functions and the resulting dynamic value decompositions (DVDs). These methods quantify the exposures of macroeconomic cash flows to shocks over alternative investment horizons and the corresponding prices or investors’ compensations. We extend the continuous-time methods developed in Hansen and Scheinkman (2012) and Borovi?ka et al. (2011) by constructing discrete-time, state-dependent, shock-exposure and shock-price elasticities as functions of the investment horizon. Our methods are applicable to economic models that are nonlinear, including models with stochastic volatility.     

Proofs for large sample properties of generalized method of moments estimators

I present proofs for the consistency of generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators presented in Hansen (1982). Some basic approximation results provide the groundwork for the analysis of a class of such estimators. Using these results, I establish the large sample convergence of GMM estimators under alternative restrictions on the estimation problem.     

Political Economy of Course Evaluations

Professors Hansen and Kelley suggest practical guidelines for implementing course evaluation systems, drawing upon their experience at the University of Wisconsin. They develop a model to conceptualize course evaluations in the context of the professor's decision-making framework, focusing upon the allocation of time between teaching and research. Costs and benefits associated with collecting evaluations are considered, and ways of minimizing the former and maximizing the latter are suggested.