{"title":"Spread Regression, Skewness Regression, and Kurtosis Regression With an Application to the US Wage Structure","authors":"Qiang Chen, Zhijie Xiao","doi":"10.1002/jae.3105","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Quantile regression provides a powerful tool for investigating the effects of covariates on key quantiles of a conditional distribution. However, we often lack a general picture of how covariates affect the overall shape of the conditional distribution. Using quantile regression estimation and quantile-based measures of spread, skewness, and kurtosis, we propose spread regression, skewness regression, and kurtosis regression as empirical tools to quantify the effects of covariates on the spread, skewness, and kurtosis of the conditional distribution. This methodology is applied to US wage data during 1980–2019 with substantive findings, and a comparison is made with a moment-based robust approach. In addition, we decompose changes in the spread into composition effects and structural effects to clarify rising inequality. We also provide the Stata commands spreadreg, skewreg, and kurtosisreg, which are available from the Statistical Software Components (SSC) archive, for easy implementation of spread, skewness, and kurtotis regressions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48363,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Econometrics","volume":"40 3","pages":"325-340"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jae.3105","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Applied Econometrics","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jae.3105","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Quantile regression provides a powerful tool for investigating the effects of covariates on key quantiles of a conditional distribution. However, we often lack a general picture of how covariates affect the overall shape of the conditional distribution. Using quantile regression estimation and quantile-based measures of spread, skewness, and kurtosis, we propose spread regression, skewness regression, and kurtosis regression as empirical tools to quantify the effects of covariates on the spread, skewness, and kurtosis of the conditional distribution. This methodology is applied to US wage data during 1980–2019 with substantive findings, and a comparison is made with a moment-based robust approach. In addition, we decompose changes in the spread into composition effects and structural effects to clarify rising inequality. We also provide the Stata commands spreadreg, skewreg, and kurtosisreg, which are available from the Statistical Software Components (SSC) archive, for easy implementation of spread, skewness, and kurtotis regressions.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Applied Econometrics is an international journal published bi-monthly, plus 1 additional issue (total 7 issues). It aims to publish articles of high quality dealing with the application of existing as well as new econometric techniques to a wide variety of problems in economics and related subjects, covering topics in measurement, estimation, testing, forecasting, and policy analysis. The emphasis is on the careful and rigorous application of econometric techniques and the appropriate interpretation of the results. The economic content of the articles is stressed. A special feature of the Journal is its emphasis on the replicability of results by other researchers. To achieve this aim, authors are expected to make available a complete set of the data used as well as any specialised computer programs employed through a readily accessible medium, preferably in a machine-readable form. The use of microcomputers in applied research and transferability of data is emphasised. The Journal also features occasional sections of short papers re-evaluating previously published papers. The intention of the Journal of Applied Econometrics is to provide an outlet for innovative, quantitative research in economics which cuts across areas of specialisation, involves transferable techniques, and is easily replicable by other researchers. Contributions that introduce statistical methods that are applicable to a variety of economic problems are actively encouraged. The Journal also aims to publish review and survey articles that make recent developments in the field of theoretical and applied econometrics more readily accessible to applied economists in general.