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Main Authors: Antweiler, Antonia, Freyberger, Joachim
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18995
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author Antweiler, Antonia
Freyberger, Joachim
author_facet Antweiler, Antonia
Freyberger, Joachim
contents This paper examines estimation of skill formation models, a critical component in understanding human capital development and its effects on individual outcomes. Existing estimators are either based on moment conditions and only applicable in specific settings or rely on distributional approximations that often do not align with the model. Our method employs an iterative likelihood-based procedure, which flexibly estimates latent variable distributions and recursively incorporates model restrictions across time periods. This approach reduces computational complexity while accommodating nonlinear production functions and measurement systems. Inference can be based on a bootstrap procedure that does not require re-estimating the model for bootstrap samples. Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate that our estimator outperforms existing methods, whose estimators can be substantially biased or noisy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_18995
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Flexible estimation of skill formation models
Antweiler, Antonia
Freyberger, Joachim
Econometrics
This paper examines estimation of skill formation models, a critical component in understanding human capital development and its effects on individual outcomes. Existing estimators are either based on moment conditions and only applicable in specific settings or rely on distributional approximations that often do not align with the model. Our method employs an iterative likelihood-based procedure, which flexibly estimates latent variable distributions and recursively incorporates model restrictions across time periods. This approach reduces computational complexity while accommodating nonlinear production functions and measurement systems. Inference can be based on a bootstrap procedure that does not require re-estimating the model for bootstrap samples. Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate that our estimator outperforms existing methods, whose estimators can be substantially biased or noisy.
title Flexible estimation of skill formation models
topic Econometrics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18995