arXiv subjects

Morten Ørregaard Nielsen

Publications and source records attributed to Morten Ørregaard Nielsen.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Inference on common trends in functional time series

We study statistical inference on unit roots and cointegration for time series in a Hilbert space. We develop statistical inference on the number of common stochastic trends embedded in the time series, i.e., the dimension of the nonstationary subspace. We also consider tests of hypotheses on the nonstationary and stationary subspaces themselves. The Hilbert space can be of an arbitrarily large dimension, and our methods remain asymptotically valid even when the time series of interest takes values in a subspace of possibly unknown dimension. This has wide applicability in practice; for example, to cointegrated vector time series that are either high-dimensional or of finite dimension, to high-dimensional factor models that include a finite number of nonstationary factors, to cointegrated curve-valued (or function-valued) time series, and to nonstationary dynamic functional factor models. To illustrate our methods, we include two empirical examples.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

The Global Carbon Budget as a cointegrated system

The Global Carbon Budget, maintained by the Global Carbon Project, summarizes Earth's global carbon cycle through four annual time series beginning in 1959: atmospheric CO$_2$ concentrations, anthropogenic CO$_2$ emissions, and CO$_2$ uptake by land and by ocean. We analyze these four time series as a multivariate (cointegrated) system. Statistical tests show that the four time series are cointegrated with rank three and identify anthropogenic CO$_2$ emissions as the single stochastic trend driving the nonstationary dynamics of the system. The three cointegrated relations correspond to the physical relations that the sinks are linearly related to atmospheric concentrations and that the change in concentrations equals emissions minus the combined uptake by land and ocean. Furthermore, likelihood ratio tests show that a parametrically restricted error-correction model that embodies these physical relations cannot be rejected on the data. The model can be used for both in-sample and out-of-sample analysis. In an application of the latter, we demonstrate that projections based on this model, using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios, yield results consistent with established climate science.

stat.AP↗

arXiv2026

Jackknife inference with two-way clustering

For linear regression models with cross-section or panel data, it is natural to assume that the disturbances are clustered in two dimensions. However, the finite-sample properties of two-way cluster-robust tests and confidence intervals are often poor. We discuss several ways to improve inference with two-way clustering. Two of these are existing methods for avoiding, or at least ameliorating, the problem of undefined standard errors when a cluster-robust variance matrix estimator (CRVE) is not positive definite. One is a new method that always avoids the problem. More importantly, we propose a family of new two-way CRVEs based on the cluster jackknife and prove that they yield valid inferences asymptotically. Simulations for models with two-way fixed effects suggest that, in many cases, the cluster-jackknife CRVE combined with our new method yields surprisingly accurate inferences. We provide a software package, twowayjack for Stata, that implements our recommended variance estimator.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

Improved inference for nonparametric regression and regression-discontinuity designs

Nonparametric regression and regression-discontinuity designs suffer from smoothing bias that distorts conventional confidence intervals. Solutions based on robust bias correction (RBC) are now central to the economist's toolbox. In this paper, we establish a novel connection between RBC methods and bootstrap prepivoting. Revisiting RBC through the lens of bootstrapping allows us to develop a novel bias correction procedure which delivers improved nonparametric inference. The resulting confidence intervals are 17% shorter than the usual intervals employed in curve estimation and regression discontinuity designs, without compromising asymptotic coverage. This holds regardless of evaluation point location, bandwidth choice, or regressor and error distribution.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

Improved Inference for CSDID Using the Cluster Jackknife

Obtaining reliable inferences with traditional difference-in-differences (DiD) methods can be difficult. Problems can arise when both outcomes and errors are serially correlated, when there are few clusters or few treated clusters, when cluster sizes vary greatly, and in various other cases. In recent years, recognition of the ``staggered adoption'' problem has shifted the focus away from inference towards consistent estimation of treatment effects. One of the most popular new estimators is the CSDID procedure of Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021). We find that the issues of over-rejection with few clusters and/or few treated clusters are at least as severe for CSDID as for traditional DiD methods. We also propose using a cluster jackknife for inference with CSDID, which simulations suggest greatly improves inference. We provide software packages in Stata csdidjack and R didjack to calculate cluster-jackknife standard errors easily.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2025

Cluster-robust jackknife and bootstrap inference for logistic regression models

We study cluster-robust inference for logistic regression (logit) models. Inference based on the most commonly-used cluster-robust variance matrix estimator (CRVE) can be very unreliable. We study several alternatives. Conceptually the simplest of these, but also the most computationally demanding, involves jackknifing at the cluster level. We also propose a linearized version of the cluster-jackknife variance matrix estimator as well as linearized versions of the wild cluster bootstrap. The linearizations are based on empirical scores and are computationally efficient. Our results can readily be generalized to other binary response models. We also discuss a new Stata software package called logitjack which implements these procedures. Simulation results strongly favor the new methods, and two empirical examples suggest that it can be important to use them in practice.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Leverage, Influence, and the Jackknife in Clustered Regression Models: Reliable Inference Using summclust

We introduce a new Stata package called summclust that summarizes the cluster structure of the dataset for linear regression models with clustered disturbances. The key unit of observation for such a model is the cluster. We therefore propose cluster-level measures of leverage, partial leverage, and influence and show how to compute them quickly in most cases. The measures of leverage and partial leverage can be used as diagnostic tools to identify datasets and regression designs in which cluster-robust inference is likely to be challenging. The measures of influence can provide valuable information about how the results depend on the data in the various clusters. We also show how to calculate two jackknife variance matrix estimators efficiently as a byproduct of our other computations. These estimators, which are already available in Stata, are generally more conservative than conventional variance matrix estimators. The summclust package computes all the quantities that we discuss.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Bootstrap inference in the presence of bias

We consider bootstrap inference for estimators which are (asymptotically) biased. We show that, even when the bias term cannot be consistently estimated, valid inference can be obtained by proper implementations of the bootstrap. Specifically, we show that the prepivoting approach of Beran (1987, 1988), originally proposed to deliver higher-order refinements, restores bootstrap validity by transforming the original bootstrap p-value into an asymptotically uniform random variable. We propose two different implementations of prepivoting (plug-in and double bootstrap), and provide general high-level conditions that imply validity of bootstrap inference. To illustrate the practical relevance and implementation of our results, we discuss five examples: (i) inference on a target parameter based on model averaging; (ii) ridge-type regularized estimators; (iii) nonparametric regression; (iv) a location model for infinite variance data; and (v) dynamic panel data models.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Testing for the appropriate level of clustering in linear regression models

The overwhelming majority of empirical research that uses cluster-robust inference assumes that the clustering structure is known, even though there are often several possible ways in which a dataset could be clustered. We propose two tests for the correct level of clustering in regression models. One test focuses on inference about a single coefficient, and the other on inference about two or more coefficients. We provide both asymptotic and wild bootstrap implementations. The proposed tests work for a null hypothesis of either no clustering or ``fine'' clustering against alternatives of ``coarser'' clustering. We also propose a sequential testing procedure to determine the appropriate level of clustering. Simulations suggest that the bootstrap tests perform very well under the null hypothesis and can have excellent power. An empirical example suggests that using the tests leads to sensible inferences.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Fast and Reliable Jackknife and Bootstrap Methods for Cluster-Robust Inference

We provide computationally attractive methods to obtain jackknife-based cluster-robust variance matrix estimators (CRVEs) for linear regression models estimated by least squares. We also propose several new variants of the wild cluster bootstrap, which involve these CRVEs, jackknife-based bootstrap data-generating processes, or both. Extensive simulation experiments suggest that the new methods can provide much more reliable inferences than existing ones in cases where the latter are not trustworthy, such as when the number of clusters is small and/or cluster sizes vary substantially. Three empirical examples illustrate the new methods.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Fractional integration and cointegration

In this chapter we present an overview of the main ideas and methods in the fractional integration and cointegration literature. We do not attempt to give a complete survey of this enormous literature, but rather a more introductory treatment suitable for a researcher or graduate student wishing to learn about this exciting field of research. With this aim, we have surely overlooked many relevant references for which we apologize in advance. Knowledge of standard time series methods, and in particular methods related to nonstationary time series, at the level of a standard graduate course or advanced undergraduate course is assumed.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Weak convergence to derivatives of fractional Brownian motion

It is well known that, under suitable regularity conditions, the normalized fractional process with fractional parameter $d$ converges weakly to fractional Brownian motion for $d>1/2$. We show that, for any non-negative integer $M$, derivatives of order $m=0,1,\dots,M$ of the normalized fractional process with respect to the fractional parameter $d$, jointly converge weakly to the corresponding derivatives of fractional Brownian motion. As an illustration we apply the results to the asymptotic distribution of the score vectors in the multifractional vector autoregressive model.

math.PR↗

arXiv2022

Cluster-Robust Inference: A Guide to Empirical Practice

Methods for cluster-robust inference are routinely used in economics and many other disciplines. However, it is only recently that theoretical foundations for the use of these methods in many empirically relevant situations have been developed. In this paper, we use these theoretical results to provide a guide to empirical practice. We do not attempt to present a comprehensive survey of the (very large) literature. Instead, we bridge theory and practice by providing a thorough guide on what to do and why, based on recently available econometric theory and simulation evidence. To practice what we preach, we include an empirical analysis of the effects of the minimum wage on labor supply of teenagers using individual data.

econ.EM↗