Approximate Operator Inversion for Average Effects in Nonlinear Panel Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Beyhum, Jad, Dhaene, Geert, Pakel, Cavit, Weidner, Martin
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Beyhum, Jad
Dhaene, Geert
Pakel, Cavit
Weidner, Martin
author_facet Beyhum, Jad
Dhaene, Geert
Pakel, Cavit
Weidner, Martin
contents We study the estimation of average effects in nonlinear panel data models with fixed effects when the time dimension $T$ is only moderately large. Our approach, called approximate operator inversion (AOI), offers a new perspective on bias correction. Instead of first estimating unit-specific fixed effects and then correcting the resulting plug-in bias, AOI approximately inverts the likelihood-induced mapping from the fixed-effect distribution to the outcome distribution. AOI can be interpreted as the limit of an infinitely iterated bias correction scheme, and this limit is available in closed form. We show that the bias of the AOI estimator has a rate double robustness property and converges to zero at an exponential rate in $T$ under regularity conditions. Our asymptotic theory requires $T \to \infty$, but the exponential convergence rate of the bias means that finite-sample performance is very good even for moderately large $T$. We establish asymptotic normality and provide feasible inference.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_05037
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Approximate Operator Inversion for Average Effects in Nonlinear Panel Models
Beyhum, Jad
Dhaene, Geert
Pakel, Cavit
Weidner, Martin
Econometrics
We study the estimation of average effects in nonlinear panel data models with fixed effects when the time dimension $T$ is only moderately large. Our approach, called approximate operator inversion (AOI), offers a new perspective on bias correction. Instead of first estimating unit-specific fixed effects and then correcting the resulting plug-in bias, AOI approximately inverts the likelihood-induced mapping from the fixed-effect distribution to the outcome distribution. AOI can be interpreted as the limit of an infinitely iterated bias correction scheme, and this limit is available in closed form. We show that the bias of the AOI estimator has a rate double robustness property and converges to zero at an exponential rate in $T$ under regularity conditions. Our asymptotic theory requires $T \to \infty$, but the exponential convergence rate of the bias means that finite-sample performance is very good even for moderately large $T$. We establish asymptotic normality and provide feasible inference.
title Approximate Operator Inversion for Average Effects in Nonlinear Panel Models
topic Econometrics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05037