Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T21:21:43.340Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - The Maximum Likelihood Principle

from PART ONE - Maximum Likelihood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2013

Vance Martin
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Stan Hurn
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology
David Harris
Affiliation:
Monash University, Victoria
Get access

Summary

Maximum likelihood estimation is a general method for estimating the parameters of econometric models from observed data. The principle of maximum likelihood plays a central role in the exposition of this book, since a number of estimators used in econometrics can be derived within this framework. Examples include ordinary least squares, generalised least squares and full information maximum likelihood. In deriving the maximum likelihood estimator, a key concept is the joint probability density function (pdf) of the observed random variables, yt. Maximum likelihood estimation requires that the following conditions are satisfied.

  1. (1) The form of the joint pdf of yt is known.

  2. (2) The specifications of the moments of the joint pdf are known.

  3. (3) The joint pdf can be evaluated for all values of the parameters, θ.

Parts ONE and TWO of this book deal with models in which all these conditions are satisfied. Part THREE investigates models in which these conditions are not satisfied and considers four important cases. First, if the distribution of yt is misspecified, resulting in both conditions 1 and 2 being violated, estimation is by quasi-maximum likelihood (Chapter 9). Second, if condition 1 is not satisfied, a generalised method of moments estimator (Chapter 10) is required. Third, if condition 2 is not satisfied, estimation relies on nonparametric methods (Chapter 11). Fourth, if condition 3 is violated, simulation-based estimation methods are used (Chapter 12).

Type
Chapter
Information
Econometric Modelling with Time Series
Specification, Estimation and Testing
, pp. 3 - 32
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×