Nonparametric Rank Based Methods for Demand, Welfare, and Production Analysis

需求系统的"等级"概念被用来统一 关于聚合和功能结构的文献 要求。一个扩展的秩概念的含义 聚合、可分性、函数形式与福利比较 推导了这些特别有用，因为排名是一个 标量，整数属性的现成恩格尔曲线数据， 然而，这个数字对收入和价格有影响， 需求的结构和适当的结构 用于估计和分析这些需求的模型。 一种简单的新的非参数估计方法 需求是根据普通线性回归得出的， 构造一个矩阵，该矩阵与 基础需求体系。其他非参数的应用 还提出了估计器。核与平均导数 估计将用于非参数估计 弹性它们将与排名估计相结合， 建议适当程度的可分离性、聚合性和 参数或半参数函数形式。 在开发分析需求行为的新技术时， 这些方法将有助于审查成本和福利 对税收、收入再分配和定价政策的影响 并描述这些政策对 不同的人口群体，包括老年人、单身 父母和穷人。其他潜在应用包括 扩展生产数据以揭示类似信息 要素需求结构与财务分析 资产，其中rank提供了对资产的非参数估计， 共同基金（投资组合）分离度。主数据 分析的来源是消费者支出调查， 根据美国国民收入和产品价格 账户为便于比较，将使用英国的数据。

The concept of the "rank" of a demand system is used to unify the literature concerning the aggregation and functional structure of demands. The implication of an extended notion of rank for aggregation, separability, functional form and welfare comparison are derived. These are particularly useful because rank is a scalar, integer attribute of readily available Engle curve data, yet this number has implications for the income and price structure of the demands and for the appropriate structure of models used to estimate and analyze these demands. A simple new nonparametric techniques for estimating the rank of demands is derived based on ordinary linear regressions to construct a matrix that asymptotically has the same rank as the underlying demand system. Applications of other nonparametric estimators are also proposed. Kernel and average derivative estimation will be used to nonparametrically estimate elasticities. They will be combined with rank estimates to suggest appropriate levels of separability, aggregation and parametric or semiparametric functional forms. In developing the new techniques for analyzing demand behavior, the methods will be useful in examining cost and welfare implications for tax, income redistribution and pricing policies and describing the differential impact of such policies on different demographic groups, including the elderly, single parents and the poor. Other potential applications include extensions to production data to reveal analogous information about the structure of factor demands and analysis for financial assets, where rank provides a nonparametric estimate of the degree of mutual fund (portfolio) separation. The principal data sources for the analysis are the Consumer Expenditure Surveys, with prices obtained from the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts. For comparison purposes, British data will be used.