Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

Alternative methods for estimating systems of (health) equations

Contents:

Author Info

  • Casey Quinn
Registered author(s):

    Abstract

    This paper considers the simultaneous explanation of mortality risk, health and lifestyles, using a reduced-form system of equations in which the multivariate distribution is defined by the copula. A copula approximation of the joint distribution allows one to avoid usually implicit distributional assumptions, allowing potentially more robust and efficient estimates to be retrieved. By applying the theory of inference functions the parameters of each lifestyle, health and mortality equation can be estimated separately to the parameters of association found in their joint distribution, simplifying analysis considerably. The use of copulas also enables estimation of skewed multivariate distributions for the latent variables in a multivariate model of discrete response variables. This flexibility provides more precise estimates with more appropriate distributional assumptions, but presents explicit trade-offs during analysis. Information that can be retrieved concerning distributional assumptions, skewness and tail dependence require prioritisation such that different needs could generate a different ’best’ model even for the same data.

    Download Info

    If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
    File URL: http://www.york.ac.uk/media/economics/documents/herc/wp/06_05.pdf
    File Function: Main text
    Download Restriction: no

    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York in its series Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers with number 06/05.

    as in new window
    Length:
    Date of creation: Jul 2006
    Date of revision:
    Handle: RePEc:yor:hectdg:06/05

    Contact details of provider:
    Postal: HEDG/HERC, Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
    Phone: (0)1904 323776
    Fax: (0)1904 323759
    Email:
    Web page: http://www.york.ac.uk/res/herc/research/hedg/
    More information through EDIRC

    Related research

    Keywords: health; lifestyle; mortality multivariate models; copulas; inference functions.;

    Find related papers by JEL classification:

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    References

    No references listed on IDEAS
    You can help add them by filling out this form.

    Citations

    Lists

    This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:yor:hectdg:06/05

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Jane Rawlings).

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

    If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.