Empirical models for dyadic interactions between n agents often feature agent-specific parameters. Fixed-effect estimators of such models generally have bias of order n−1, which is nonnegligible relative to their standard error. Therefore, confidence sets based on the asymptotic distribution have incorrect coverage. This paper looks at models with multiplicative unobservables and fixed effects. We derive moment conditions that are free of fixed effects and use them to set up estimators that are n-consistent, asymptotically normally distributed, and asymptotically unbiased. We provide Monte Carlo evidence for a range of models. We estimate a gravity equation as an empirical illustration.

The maximum‐likelihood estimator of nonlinear panel data models with fixed effects is asymptotically biased under rectangular‐array asymptotics. The literature has devoted substantial effort to devising methods that correct for this bias as a means to salvage standard inferential procedures. The chief purpose of this paper is to show that the (recursive, parametric) bootstrap replicates the asymptotic distribution of the (uncorrected) maximum‐likelihood estimator and of the likelihood‐ratio statistic. This justifies the use of confidence sets and decision rules for hypothesis testing constructed via conventional bootstrap methods. No modification for the presence of bias needs to be made.