Antonia Antweiler, Joachim Freyberger
arXiv 25 Jul 2025 · Econometrics
arXiv:2507.18995 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text
This paper examines estimation of skill formation models, a critical component in understanding human capital development and its effects on individual outcomes. Existing estimators are either based on moment conditions and only applicable in specific settings or rely on distributional approximations that often do not align with the model. Our method employs an iterative likelihood-based procedure, which flexibly estimates latent variable distributions and recursively incorporates model restrictions across time periods. This approach reduces computational complexity while accommodating nonlinear production functions and measurement systems. Inference can be based on a bootstrap procedure that does not require re-estimating the model for bootstrap samples. Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate that our estimator outperforms existing methods, whose estimators can be substantially biased or noisy.
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The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.
| Reference | Intensity | Mentions | Sections | Main text | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attanasio, O., C. Meghir, and E. Nix (2020) Human capital development and parental investment in India | 1.000 | 52 | 7 | 100% |
| 2 | Agostinelli, F. and M. Wiswall (2025) Estimating the technology of children’s skill formation | 1.000 | 33 | 5 | 100% |
| 3 | Cunha, F., J. Heckman, and S. Schennach (2010) Estimating the technology of cognitive and noncognitive skill formation | 1.000 | 19 | 4 | 100% |
| 4 | Freyberger, J (2024) Normalizations and misspecification in skill formation models self | 1.000 | 15 | 6 | 100% |
| 5 | Attanasio, O., S. Cattan, E. Fitzsimons, C. Meghir, and M. Rubio-Codin (2020) Estimating the production function for human capital: Results from a randomized control trial in Colombia | 0.737 | 3 | 2 | 100% |
| 6 | Cunha, F. and J. Heckman (2008) Formulating, identifying and estimating the technology of cognitive and noncognitive skill formation | 0.737 | 3 | 2 | 100% |
| 7 | Attanasio, O., R. Bernal, M. Giannola, and M. Nores (2020) Investment and the changing dynamics of different dimensions | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 8 | Attanasio, O., C. Meghir, E. Nix, and F. Salvati (2017) Human capital growth and poverty: Evidence from Ethiopia and Peru | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 9 | Adhvaryu, A., A. Nyshadham, and J. Tamayo (2023) Managerial quality and productivity dynamics | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 10 | Bolt, U., E. French, J. Hentall-MacCuish, and C. O'Dea (2024) The intergenerational elasticity of earnings: Exploring the mechanisms | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Showing the top 10 of 24 scored citations.