Bias correction for quantile regression estimators

Abstract

We study the bias of classical quantile regression and instrumental variable quantile regression estimators. While being asymptotically first-order unbiased, these estimators can have non-negligible second-order biases. We derive a higher-order stochastic expansion of these estimators using empirical process theory. Based on this expansion, we derive an explicit formula for the second-order bias and propose a feasible bias correction procedure that uses finite-difference estimators of the bias components. The proposed bias correction method performs well in simulations. We provide an empirical illustration using Engel’s classical data on household food expenditure.