Spring Semester 2024-2025

Title: "Regression Modelling under General Heterogeneity"

Speaker: Professor George Kapetanios, King’s College London

Host:  Assistant Professor Alexopoulos Angelos, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business

Time: 15.30 -17.00

Room:  76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36

Αbstract: This paper introduces and analyses a setting with general heterogeneity in regression modelling. It shows that regression models with fixed or time-varying parameters can be estimated by OLS or time-varying OLS methods, respectively, for a very wide class of regressors and noises, not covered by existing modelling theory. The new setting allows the development of asymptotic theory and the estimation of standard errors. The proposed robust confidence interval estimators permit a high degree of heterogeneity in regressors and noise. The estimates of robust standard errors coincide with the well known estimator of heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors by White (1980), but are applicable to more general circumstances than just the presence of heteroscedastic noise and allow regression estimation with  missing data. They are easy to compute and perform well in Monte Carlo simulations. Their robustness, generality and ease of use make them ideal for applied work. The paper includes a brief empirical illustration.

Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Title: "Cash and Cognition: The Impact of Transfer Timing on Standardized Test Performance and Human Capital" 

Speaker: Assistant Professor German Reyes, Economics Department, Middlebury College 

Host:  Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business

Time: 15.30 -17.00

Room:  76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36

Attachments:  PDF of Relevant Paper

Abstract: This paper shows that the timing of monetary transfers to low-income families affects students' cognitive performance on high-stakes standardized tests. We combine administrative records from the world's largest conditional cash transfer program with college admission exam results of 185,000 high school students from beneficiary families. Exploiting random variation in payment dates, we find that receiving the transfer in the days preceding the exam increases test scores by 0.01 standard deviations relative to receiving it the subsequent week. Question-level analysis reveals that effects are concentrated in final questions and easier questions, suggesting improved cognitive endurance and effort allocation. The impacts are largest for recipients of larger transfers, who experience persistent gains in human capital accumulation: their college enrollment increases by 0.6 percentage points, with higher graduation rates and formal employment. Our findings show that short-term liquidity constraints during high-stakes events can have long-lasting implications, and suggest opportunities to improve social programs through improved payment scheduling.

Title: "tba"

Speaker: Associate Professor Petros Milionis, University of Groningen

Host:  Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business

Time: 15.30 -17.00

Room:  76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36

Title: "tba"

Speaker: Professor Louis-Philippe Morin, University of Ottawa

Host:  Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business

Time: 15.30 -17.00

Room:  76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36