Davis, George C.

April, 2004

The Structure of Models: Understanding Theory Reduction and Testing with a Production Example

By: Davis, George C.
The language of economics is the language of models. Understanding the structure of this language offers many benefits. Unfortunately, the structure is ubiquitous in implementation but absent in documentation. This paper documents the structure of models in the context of the theory reduction and testing process. The structure is used to explain why there are several legitimate ways to deal with nonspherical errors in econometric models and why the recent work on stochastic preferences and technologies is a progressive step forward for the discipline. A production modeling exercise is presented to help illuminate the concepts.
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December, 1994

TWO-STAGE UTILITY MAXIMIZATION AND IMPORT DEMAND SYSTEMS REVISITED: LIMITATIONS AND AN ALTERNATIVE

By: Davis, George C.; Jensen, Kimberly L.
Two-stage utility maximization theory has been widely used in the literature to estimate import demand for agricultural commodities that are often inputs. This article examines the overlooked conceptual and empirical limitations of applying two-stage utility maximization theory to model the demand for imported commodities that are inputs. A discussion is presented about how the underutilized theory of two-stage profit maximization overcomes these limitations. Also discussed are the conditions under which errors illustration of the two-stage profit maximization procedure is provided.
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