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Properties of the Conditional Likelihood Ratio Test under Discrete Approximation

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  • Marcelo J. Moreira
  • Mahrad Sharifvaghefi

Abstract

The conditional likelihood ratio (CLR) test is a valuable tool for inference under weak identification, with appealing theoretical properties in both linear and non-linear settings. Its implementation nevertheless requires minimizing a non-convex objective function, a difficulty long recognized even in the linear IV setting. While grid-based methods that provide a practical approximation may perform well in particular designs, such procedures do not guarantee that the resulting test preserves the theoretical properties of the CLR test uniformly across a class of data-generating processes. This paper examines the implementation challenges and their consequences for test size and power. In the linear IV settings, we contrast the grid-based method with the polynomial approach of Moreira, Newey, and Sharifvaghefi(2024), which guarantees global minimization and aligns computation with the theoretical properties of the CLR test.

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  • Marcelo J. Moreira & Mahrad Sharifvaghefi, 2026. "Properties of the Conditional Likelihood Ratio Test under Discrete Approximation," Papers 2607.04380, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2607.04380
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Donald W. K. Andrews & Marcelo J. Moreira & James H. Stock, 2006. "Optimal Two-Sided Invariant Similar Tests for Instrumental Variables Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(3), pages 715-752, May.
    2. Isaiah Andrews & Anna Mikusheva, 2016. "Conditional Inference With a Functional Nuisance Parameter," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84(4), pages 1571-1612, July.
    3. Moreira, Humberto & Moreira, Marcelo J., 2019. "Optimal two-sided tests for instrumental variables regression with heteroskedastic and autocorrelated errors," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 213(2), pages 398-433.
    4. Isaiah Andrews & Anna Mikusheva, 2016. "Conditional Inference With a Functional Nuisance Parameter," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 1571-1612, July.
    5. Marcelo J. Moreira & Geert Ridder & Mahrad Sharifvaghefi, 2026. "Power Bounds and Efficiency Loss for Asymptotically Optimal Tests in IV Regression," Papers 2603.21004, arXiv.org.
    6. Chao, John C. & Hausman, Jerry A. & Newey, Whitney K. & Swanson, Norman R. & Woutersen, Tiemen, 2014. "Testing overidentifying restrictions with many instruments and heteroskedasticity," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 178(P1), pages 15-21.
    7. Marcelo J. Moreira, 2003. "A Conditional Likelihood Ratio Test for Structural Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1027-1048, July.
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