On Econometrics With Flexible Assumptions For Asset Pricing And Discrete Choice Models

Download On Econometrics With Flexible Assumptions For Asset Pricing And Discrete Choice Models full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online On Econometrics With Flexible Assumptions For Asset Pricing And Discrete Choice Models ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

On Econometrics with Flexible Assumptions for Asset Pricing and Discrete Choice Models

Author : Karina Otero
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (959 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis On Econometrics with Flexible Assumptions for Asset Pricing and Discrete Choice Models by : Karina Otero

Download or read book On Econometrics with Flexible Assumptions for Asset Pricing and Discrete Choice Models written by Karina Otero and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chapter 1 proposes a new approach to estimate general stationary diffusion processes that describe the evolution of unobserved arrival rates of credit events on sovereign bonds, allowing for arbitrary parametric drift and diffusion specifications. The solutions and transition processes for stationary diffusions are generally unknown in closed form and therefore standard maximum likelihood methods do not apply. Moreover, the arrival rates of credit events on sovereign bonds are unobservable and a direct nonparametric estimation does not work. Chapter 1 overcomes these challenges combining a semi-nonparametric estimator in the framework of the Efficient Method of Moments, and a reduced-form model for pricing sovereign bonds and credit default swaps. The application for Brazil sovereign assets explores the performance of the model under different specifications of the intensity process.Chapter 2 proves a nonparametric identification result for a stochastic dynamic discrete-choice game of incomplete information. The joint distribution of the private information and the stage game payoffs of the players are both assumed unknown for the econometrician and the private information across alternatives is allowed to have different distributions and be dependent. This setup poses a circularity problem in the identification strategy that has not been solved for dynamic games. Chapter 2 proposes a solution through exclusion restrictions and implied properties of the unknown functions. Under the assumptions that the distribution of the private shocks for the outside option is known and the outside option's shocks are independent of other shocks, the results jointly identify the stage game payoffs and the joint distribution of the private information.Chapter 3 proposes a new nonparametric identification strategy for static multiple choice models with random heterogeneity in unobservables. The strategy relies on functional properties of the sub-utilities and the distribution of the unobservables, a known payoff function for the outside option and exclusion restrictions for all but one alternative. This new strategy does not transform the multiple choice model into a set of binary models, does not need special regressors, additive separability on observables or differentiability conditions. Some ideas for this new identification strategy are borrowed from a theorem published in 1993 that intended to identify all the sub-utility functions but one and also the distribution of the shocks in differences. However, the proof of this published theorem is incorrect and (to the best of my knowledge) this chapter is the first literature pointing this out and providing a new proof of a different version of the theorem after modifications of its assumptions.

Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation

Author : Kenneth Train
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521766559
Total Pages : 399 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (217 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation by : Kenneth Train

Download or read book Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation written by Kenneth Train and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-06 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the new generation of discrete choice methods, focusing on the many advances that are made possible by simulation. Researchers use these statistical methods to examine the choices that consumers, households, firms, and other agents make. Each of the major models is covered: logit, generalized extreme value, or GEV (including nested and cross-nested logits), probit, and mixed logit, plus a variety of specifications that build on these basics. Simulation-assisted estimation procedures are investigated and compared, including maximum stimulated likelihood, method of simulated moments, and method of simulated scores. Procedures for drawing from densities are described, including variance reduction techniques such as anithetics and Halton draws. Recent advances in Bayesian procedures are explored, including the use of the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm and its variant Gibbs sampling. The second edition adds chapters on endogeneity and expectation-maximization (EM) algorithms. No other book incorporates all these fields, which have arisen in the past 25 years. The procedures are applicable in many fields, including energy, transportation, environmental studies, health, labor, and marketing.

Static Asset-pricing Models

Author : Andrew Wen-Chuan Lo
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 680 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Static Asset-pricing Models by : Andrew Wen-Chuan Lo

Download or read book Static Asset-pricing Models written by Andrew Wen-Chuan Lo and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a selection of the most important articles in the field of financial econometrics. Starting with a review of the philosophical background, this collection covers such topics as the random walk hypothesis, long-memory processes, asset pricing, arbitrage pricing theory, variance bounds tests, term structure models, and more.

Essays on Bayesian Econometrics and Asset Pricing

Author : Deven Ranjitsinh Kapadia
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781321021059
Total Pages : 112 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (21 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Essays on Bayesian Econometrics and Asset Pricing by : Deven Ranjitsinh Kapadia

Download or read book Essays on Bayesian Econometrics and Asset Pricing written by Deven Ranjitsinh Kapadia and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My dissertation is composed of three chapters. These three chapters contribute to at least one of two areas, Bayesian Econometrics or Asset Pricing. The first chapter of my dissertation, "Asset Pricing with Adaptive Learning and Internal Habit Persistence," investigates the extent to which the assumption of rational expectations contributes to the failure of production-based asset pricing models with internal habit persistence to match asset pricing facts. The chapter concludes minor deviations from rational expectations are not sufficient to fully match pricing statistics or create predictable returns. However, deviations push the model's statistics closer to matching the data. The work contributes to the existing macroeconomic literature by evaluating the assumption of rational expectations in asset pricing models. The second chapter, "Contribution of a Rational Bubble to Stock Prices," uses a Bayesian perspective to decompose the S&P500 stock price index into a market fundamental and bubble component. Results indicate the contribution and role of the bubble depends on prior specification of market fundamentals. Assuming fundamental log price-dividend ratio is stationary, the bubble explains over 90 percent of the variation in prices and bubble-switching behavior is consistent with expected bubble dynamics. Moreover, this paper helps to construct a flexible econometric framework that can accommodate multiple prior beliefs while decomposing the stock price index. The final chapter, "Probability of an Instrument Being Excludable," estimates the posterior probability of satisfying the exclusion restriction in the instrumental variables model. Typically, practitioners justify the exclusion restriction because it is sufficient for identification. Relaxing the assumption causes the model to be partially identified. The chapter takes advantage of the Bayesian perspective to study the exclusion restriction through posterior probabilities. Results illustrate that posterior probabilities are well-defined, data dependent, and take into account prior beliefs about exclusion, even without the property of identification. This implies, by incorporating information through proper prior distributions, it is possible to determine if the resulting posterior distribution supports the exclusion restriction.

Asset Pricing

Author : John H. Cochrane
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400829135
Total Pages : 560 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Asset Pricing by : John H. Cochrane

Download or read book Asset Pricing written by John H. Cochrane and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-11 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the prestigious Paul A. Samuelson Award for scholarly writing on lifelong financial security, John Cochrane's Asset Pricing now appears in a revised edition that unifies and brings the science of asset pricing up to date for advanced students and professionals. Cochrane traces the pricing of all assets back to a single idea--price equals expected discounted payoff--that captures the macro-economic risks underlying each security's value. By using a single, stochastic discount factor rather than a separate set of tricks for each asset class, Cochrane builds a unified account of modern asset pricing. He presents applications to stocks, bonds, and options. Each model--consumption based, CAPM, multifactor, term structure, and option pricing--is derived as a different specification of the discounted factor. The discount factor framework also leads to a state-space geometry for mean-variance frontiers and asset pricing models. It puts payoffs in different states of nature on the axes rather than mean and variance of return, leading to a new and conveniently linear geometrical representation of asset pricing ideas. Cochrane approaches empirical work with the Generalized Method of Moments, which studies sample average prices and discounted payoffs to determine whether price does equal expected discounted payoff. He translates between the discount factor, GMM, and state-space language and the beta, mean-variance, and regression language common in empirical work and earlier theory. The book also includes a review of recent empirical work on return predictability, value and other puzzles in the cross section, and equity premium puzzles and their resolution. Written to be a summary for academics and professionals as well as a textbook, this book condenses and advances recent scholarship in financial economics.

Econometric Models For Industrial Organization

Author : Matthew Shum
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 981310967X
Total Pages : 154 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Econometric Models For Industrial Organization by : Matthew Shum

Download or read book Econometric Models For Industrial Organization written by Matthew Shum and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2016-12-14 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic Models for Industrial Organization focuses on the specification and estimation of econometric models for research in industrial organization. In recent decades, empirical work in industrial organization has moved towards dynamic and equilibrium models, involving econometric methods which have features distinct from those used in other areas of applied economics. These lecture notes, aimed for a first or second-year PhD course, motivate and explain these econometric methods, starting from simple models and building to models with the complexity observed in typical research papers. The covered topics include discrete-choice demand analysis, models of dynamic behavior and dynamic games, multiple equilibria in entry games and partial identification, and auction models.

Empirical Dynamic Asset Pricing

Author : Kenneth J. Singleton
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400829232
Total Pages : 497 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Empirical Dynamic Asset Pricing by : Kenneth J. Singleton

Download or read book Empirical Dynamic Asset Pricing written by Kenneth J. Singleton and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-12-13 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by one of the leading experts in the field, this book focuses on the interplay between model specification, data collection, and econometric testing of dynamic asset pricing models. The first several chapters provide an in-depth treatment of the econometric methods used in analyzing financial time-series models. The remainder explores the goodness-of-fit of preference-based and no-arbitrage models of equity returns and the term structure of interest rates; equity and fixed-income derivatives prices; and the prices of defaultable securities. Singleton addresses the restrictions on the joint distributions of asset returns and other economic variables implied by dynamic asset pricing models, as well as the interplay between model formulation and the choice of econometric estimation strategy. For each pricing problem, he provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence on goodness-of-fit, with tables and graphs that facilitate critical assessment of the current state of the relevant literatures. As an added feature, Singleton includes throughout the book interesting tidbits of new research. These range from empirical results (not reported elsewhere, or updated from Singleton's previous papers) to new observations about model specification and new econometric methods for testing models. Clear and comprehensive, the book will appeal to researchers at financial institutions as well as advanced students of economics and finance, mathematics, and science.

Empirical Asset Pricing

Author : Wayne Ferson
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262039370
Total Pages : 497 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Empirical Asset Pricing by : Wayne Ferson

Download or read book Empirical Asset Pricing written by Wayne Ferson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to the theory and methods of empirical asset pricing, integrating classical foundations with recent developments. This book offers a comprehensive advanced introduction to asset pricing, the study of models for the prices and returns of various securities. The focus is empirical, emphasizing how the models relate to the data. The book offers a uniquely integrated treatment, combining classical foundations with more recent developments in the literature and relating some of the material to applications in investment management. It covers the theory of empirical asset pricing, the main empirical methods, and a range of applied topics. The book introduces the theory of empirical asset pricing through three main paradigms: mean variance analysis, stochastic discount factors, and beta pricing models. It describes empirical methods, beginning with the generalized method of moments (GMM) and viewing other methods as special cases of GMM; offers a comprehensive review of fund performance evaluation; and presents selected applied topics, including a substantial chapter on predictability in asset markets that covers predicting the level of returns, volatility and higher moments, and predicting cross-sectional differences in returns. Other chapters cover production-based asset pricing, long-run risk models, the Campbell-Shiller approximation, the debate on covariance versus characteristics, and the relation of volatility to the cross-section of stock returns. An extensive reference section captures the current state of the field. The book is intended for use by graduate students in finance and economics; it can also serve as a reference for professionals.

Microeconometrics

Author : A. Colin Cameron
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139444867
Total Pages : 1058 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Microeconometrics by : A. Colin Cameron

Download or read book Microeconometrics written by A. Colin Cameron and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-05-09 with total page 1058 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the most comprehensive treatment to date of microeconometrics, the analysis of individual-level data on the economic behavior of individuals or firms using regression methods for cross section and panel data. The book is oriented to the practitioner. A basic understanding of the linear regression model with matrix algebra is assumed. The text can be used for a microeconometrics course, typically a second-year economics PhD course; for data-oriented applied microeconometrics field courses; and as a reference work for graduate students and applied researchers who wish to fill in gaps in their toolkit. Distinguishing features of the book include emphasis on nonlinear models and robust inference, simulation-based estimation, and problems of complex survey data. The book makes frequent use of numerical examples based on generated data to illustrate the key models and methods. More substantially, it systematically integrates into the text empirical illustrations based on seven large and exceptionally rich data sets.

Qualitative Choice Analysis

Author : Kenneth Train
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262200554
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Qualitative Choice Analysis by : Kenneth Train

Download or read book Qualitative Choice Analysis written by Kenneth Train and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1986 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses two significant research areas in an interdependent fashion. It is first of all a comprehensive but concise text that covers the recently developed and widely applicable methods of qualitative choice analysis, illustrating the general theory through simulation models of automobile demand and use. It is also a detailed study of automobile demand and use, presenting forecasts based on these powerful new techniques. The book develops the general principles that underlie qualitative choice models that are now being applied in numerous fields in addition to transportation, such as housing, labor, energy, communications, and criminology. The general form, derivation, and estimation of qualitative choice models are explained, and the major models - logit, probit, and GEV - are discussed in detail. And continuous/discrete models are introduced. In these, qualitative choice methods and standard regression techniques are combined to analyze situations that neither alone can accurately forecast. Summarizing previous research on auto demand, the book shows how qualitative choice methods can be used by applying them to specific auto-related decisions as the aggregate of individuals' choices. The simulation model that is constructed is a significant improvement over older models, and should prove more useful to agencies and organizations requiring accurate forecasting of auto demand and use for planning and policy development. The book concludes with an actual case study based on a model designed for the investigations of the California Energy Commission. Kenneth Train is Visiting Associate Professor in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of Economic Research at Cambridge Systematics, Inc., also in Berkeley. Qualitative Choice Analysisis included in The MIT Press Transportation Studies Series, edited by Marvin L. Manheim.

Finite Mixture and Markov Switching Models

Author : Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 0387357688
Total Pages : 506 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (873 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Finite Mixture and Markov Switching Models by : Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter

Download or read book Finite Mixture and Markov Switching Models written by Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-11-24 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past decade has seen powerful new computational tools for modeling which combine a Bayesian approach with recent Monte simulation techniques based on Markov chains. This book is the first to offer a systematic presentation of the Bayesian perspective of finite mixture modelling. The book is designed to show finite mixture and Markov switching models are formulated, what structures they imply on the data, their potential uses, and how they are estimated. Presenting its concepts informally without sacrificing mathematical correctness, it will serve a wide readership including statisticians as well as biologists, economists, engineers, financial and market researchers.

Handbook Of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, And Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes)

Author : Cheng Few Lee
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9811202400
Total Pages : 5053 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (112 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Handbook Of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, And Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes) by : Cheng Few Lee

Download or read book Handbook Of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, And Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes) written by Cheng Few Lee and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2020-07-30 with total page 5053 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This four-volume handbook covers important concepts and tools used in the fields of financial econometrics, mathematics, statistics, and machine learning. Econometric methods have been applied in asset pricing, corporate finance, international finance, options and futures, risk management, and in stress testing for financial institutions. This handbook discusses a variety of econometric methods, including single equation multiple regression, simultaneous equation regression, and panel data analysis, among others. It also covers statistical distributions, such as the binomial and log normal distributions, in light of their applications to portfolio theory and asset management in addition to their use in research regarding options and futures contracts.In both theory and methodology, we need to rely upon mathematics, which includes linear algebra, geometry, differential equations, Stochastic differential equation (Ito calculus), optimization, constrained optimization, and others. These forms of mathematics have been used to derive capital market line, security market line (capital asset pricing model), option pricing model, portfolio analysis, and others.In recent times, an increased importance has been given to computer technology in financial research. Different computer languages and programming techniques are important tools for empirical research in finance. Hence, simulation, machine learning, big data, and financial payments are explored in this handbook.Led by Distinguished Professor Cheng Few Lee from Rutgers University, this multi-volume work integrates theoretical, methodological, and practical issues based on his years of academic and industry experience.

Handbook of Transport Modelling

Author : David A. Hensher
Publisher : Elsevier Science Limited
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 826 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (555 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Handbook of Transport Modelling by : David A. Hensher

Download or read book Handbook of Transport Modelling written by David A. Hensher and published by Elsevier Science Limited. This book was released on 2007-09-14 with total page 826 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 2000, there has been an exponential amount of research completed in the field of transport modelling thereby creating a need for an expanded and revised edition of this book. National transport models have taken on the new modelling methods and there have been theoretical and empirical advances in performance measurement. Coverage will include current demand methods, data issues, valuation, cost and performance, and updated traffic models. Supplementary case studies will illustrate how modelling can be applied to the study of the different transport modes and the infrastructures that support them.The second edition of this handbook will continue to be an essential reference for researchers and practitioners in the field. All contributions are by leading experts in their fields and there is extensive cross-referencing of subject matter. This book features expanded coverage on emerging trends and updated case studies. It addresses models for specific applications (i.e. parking, national traffic forecasting, public transport, urban freight movements, and logistics management).

Advances in Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation

Author : Rosaldo J F Rossetti
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0123973287
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (239 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Advances in Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation by : Rosaldo J F Rossetti

Download or read book Advances in Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation written by Rosaldo J F Rossetti and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-12-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Intelligent Systems Series encompasses theoretical studies, design methods, and real-world implementations and applications. It publishes titles in three core sub-topic areas: Intelligent Automation, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and Intelligent Computing. Titles focus on professional and academic reference works and handbooks. This volume, Advances in Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation, covers hot topics including driver assistance systems; cooperative vehicle-highway systems; collision avoidance; pedestrian protection; image, radar and lidar signal processing; and V2V and V2I communications. The readership for the series is broad, reflecting the wide range of intelligent systems interest and application, but focuses on engineering (in particular automation, control, mechatronics, robotics, transportation, automotive, aerospace), electronics and electronic design, and computer science. Provides researchers and engineers with up to date research results and state-of-the art technologies in the area of intelligent vehicles and transportation systems Includes case studies plus surveys of the latest research Covers hot topics including driver assistance systems; cooperative vehicle-highway systems; collision avoidance; pedestrian protection; image, radar and lidar signal processing; V2V and V2I communications

Valuing Managerial Flexibility

Author : Pietro Scialdone
Publisher : Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3867273782
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (672 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Valuing Managerial Flexibility by : Pietro Scialdone

Download or read book Valuing Managerial Flexibility written by Pietro Scialdone and published by Cuvillier Verlag. This book was released on 2007 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Social Network Analytics

Author : Nilanjan Dey
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0128156414
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (281 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Social Network Analytics by : Nilanjan Dey

Download or read book Social Network Analytics written by Nilanjan Dey and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-11-16 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Network Analytics: Computational Research Methods and Techniques focuses on various technical concepts and aspects of social network analysis. The book features the latest developments and findings in this emerging area of research. In addition, it includes a variety of applications from several domains, such as scientific research, and the business and industrial sectors. The technical aspects of analysis are covered in detail, including visualizing and modeling, network theory, mathematical models, the big data analytics of social networks, multidimensional scaling, and more. As analyzing social network data is rapidly gaining interest in the scientific research community because of the importance of the information and insights that can be culled from the wealth of data inherent in the various aspects of the network, this book provides insights on measuring the relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers, URLs, and more. Examines a variety of data analytic techniques that can be applied to social networks Discusses various methods of visualizing, modeling and tracking network patterns, organization, growth and change Covers the most recent research on social network analysis and includes applications to a number of domains

The Economics of New Goods

Author : Timothy F. Bresnahan
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226074188
Total Pages : 508 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Economics of New Goods by : Timothy F. Bresnahan

Download or read book The Economics of New Goods written by Timothy F. Bresnahan and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New goods are at the heart of economic progress. The eleven essays in this volume include historical treatments of new goods and their diffusion; practical exercises in measurement addressed to recent and ongoing innovations; and real-world methods of devising quantitative adjustments for quality change. The lead article in Part I contains a striking analysis of the history of light over two millenia. Other essays in Part I develop new price indexes for automobiles back to 1906; trace the role of the air conditioner in the development of the American south; and treat the germ theory of disease as an economic innovation. In Part II essays measure the economic impact of more recent innovations, including anti-ulcer drugs, new breakfast cereals, and computers. Part III explores methods and defects in the treatment of quality change in the official price data of the United States, Canada, and Japan. This pathbreaking volume will interest anyone who studies economic growth, productivity, and the American standard of living.