Estimation of Panel Data Models with Nonlinear Factor Structure

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Maschmann, Christina, Westerlund, Joakim
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Maschmann, Christina
Westerlund, Joakim
author_facet Maschmann, Christina
Westerlund, Joakim
contents Panel data models with unobserved heterogeneity in the form of interactive effects standardly assume that the time effects -- or ``common factors'' -- enter linearly. This assumption is restrictive because it concerns an unobserved component of the model, for which a particular functional form is rarely justified. By contrast, linearity in the observable regressors can often be motivated by economic theory or empirical convention. Linearity in the factors has mainly persisted because it is convenient and improves on standard fixed effects. This paper relaxes that assumption by combining the common correlated effects (CCE) approach with sieve methods. The resulting estimator -- abbreviated ``SCCE'' -- preserves key advantages of CCE, including computational simplicity and good small-sample and asymptotic properties, while allowing for a broader class of factor structures that nests the linear case. This makes it suitable for a wide range of empirical applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_03693
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Estimation of Panel Data Models with Nonlinear Factor Structure
Maschmann, Christina
Westerlund, Joakim
Econometrics
Panel data models with unobserved heterogeneity in the form of interactive effects standardly assume that the time effects -- or ``common factors'' -- enter linearly. This assumption is restrictive because it concerns an unobserved component of the model, for which a particular functional form is rarely justified. By contrast, linearity in the observable regressors can often be motivated by economic theory or empirical convention. Linearity in the factors has mainly persisted because it is convenient and improves on standard fixed effects. This paper relaxes that assumption by combining the common correlated effects (CCE) approach with sieve methods. The resulting estimator -- abbreviated ``SCCE'' -- preserves key advantages of CCE, including computational simplicity and good small-sample and asymptotic properties, while allowing for a broader class of factor structures that nests the linear case. This makes it suitable for a wide range of empirical applications.
title Estimation of Panel Data Models with Nonlinear Factor Structure
topic Econometrics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.03693