This paper studies the problem of identification and estimation in nonparametric regression models with a misclassified binary regressor where the measurement error may be correlated with the regressors. We show that the regression function is nonparametrically identified in the presence of an additional random variable that is correlated with the unobserved true underlying variable but unrelated to the measurement error. Identification for semiparametric and parametric regression functions follows straightforwardly from the basic identification result. We propose a kernel estimator based on the identification strategy, derive its large sample properties, and discuss alternative estimation procedures. We also propose a test for misclassification in the model based on an exclusion restriction that is straightforward to implement. Copyright The Econometric Society 2006.

This paper estimates a price elasticity using a flexible demand specification on survey data where prices are observed with errors and are correlated with household characteristics. The demand function is modeled as a polynomial/trigonometric in the unobserved true prices, and the form of the dependency between the observed prices and household characteristics is modeled parametrically. I identify and estimate the model by adapting the approach of Hausmann et al. (1991) and Schennach (2004). The flexible specifications allow us to observe that price elasticities vary across the price distribution, something missed in previous work using linear demand specifications.

Abstract Time-inconsistency may play a central role in explaining inter-temporal behaviour, particularly among poor households. However, little is known about the distribution of time-inconsistent agents, and time-preference parameters are typically not identified in standard dynamic choice models. We formulate a dynamic discrete choice model in an unobservedly heterogeneous population of possibly time-inconsistent agents. We provide conditions under which all population type probabilities and preferences for both time-consistent and sophisticated agents are point-identified and sharp set-identification results for naïve and partially sophisticated agents. Estimating the model using data from a health intervention providing insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in rural Odisha, India, we find that about two-thirds of our sample comprises time-inconsistent agents and that both sophisticated and naïve agents are considerably present-biased. Counterfactuals show that the under-investment in ITNs attributable to present-bias leads to substantial costs that are about four times the price of an ITN.

Abstract Regulatory concerns over a tension between expanding financial access and limiting default have led to significant restrictions on contract terms in a number of countries, despite limited evidence on their effectiveness. We use a large nation-wide RCT to examine new borrower responses to changes in interest rates and minimum payments for a credit card that accounted for 15% of all first-time formal loans in Mexico. Default rates were 19% over the 26 month experiment and a 30 pp decrease in interest rates decreased default by 2.5 pp with no effects on the newest borrowers. Doubling minimum payments increased default by 0.8 pp during the experiment but reduced it by 1 pp afterwards, possibly by reducing debt. Matching the experimental sample to their formal employment histories we find that the effect of job separation—more common among new borrowers—on default is seven times larger than the effect of the 30 pp interest rate change. We provide a simple framework for interpreting the experimental results, and rationalize the smaller contract term effects by their limited effects on cash flow rather than by differences in per-peso impacts.

Commitment Mechanisms and Compliance with Health-Protecting Behavior: Preliminary Evidence from Orissa, India by Alessandro Tarozzi, Aprajit Mahajan, Joanne Yoong and Brian Blackburn. Published in volume 99, issue 2, pages 231-35 of American Economic Review, May 2009

A long-standing question in social science is to what extent differences in management cause differences in firm performance. To investigate this we ran a management field experiment on large Indian textile firms. We provided free consulting on modern management practices to a randomly chosen set of treatment plants and compared their performance to the control plants. We find that adopting these management practices had three main effects. First, it raised average productivity by 11% through improved quality and efficiency and reduced inventory. Second, it increased decentralization of decision making, as better information flow enabled owners to delegate more decisions to middle managers. Third, it increased the use of computers, necessitated by the data collection and analysis involved in modern management. Since these practices were profitable this raises the question of why firms had not adopted these before. Our results suggest that informational barriers were a primary factor in explaining this lack of adoption. Modern management is a technology that diffuses slowly between firms, with many Indian firms initially unaware of its existence or impact. Since competition was limited by constraints on firm entry and growth, badly managed firms were not rapidly driven from the market.

Why Do Firms in Developing Countries Have Low Productivity? by Nicholas Bloom, Aprajit Mahajan, David McKenzie and John Roberts. Published in volume 100, issue 2, pages 619-23 of American Economic Review, May 2010

We describe findings from the first large-scale cluster randomized controlled trial in a developing country that evaluates the uptake of a health-protecting technology, insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs), through micro-consumer loans, as compared to free distribution and control conditions. Despite a relatively high price, 52 percent of sample households purchased ITNs, highlighting the role of liquidity constraints in explaining earlier low adoption rates. We find mixed evidence of improvements in malaria indices. We interpret the results and their implications within the debate about cost sharing, sustainability and liquidity constraints in public health initiatives in developing countries.