Functional Form Model Specification: An Application to Hedonic Pricing (original) (raw)
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Choice of functional form for hedonic price equations
Journal of Urban Economics, 1981
The appropriate functional form for a hedonic price equation cannot in general be specified on theoretical grounds. In this paper, a statistical procedure for the choice of functional form is proposed. A highly general functional form is specified that yields all other functional forms of interest as special cases. Likelihood ratio tests are used to test the appropriateness of alternative forms. The procedure is illustrated using cross section microdata for housing. For the case considered, the functional forms most commonly used in previous studies are strongly rejected.
Social Science Research Network, 1998
Parametric estimators, such as OLS, attain high efficiency for well-specified models. Nonparametric estimators greatly reduce specification error but at the cost of efficiency. Semiparametric estimators compromise between these dual goals of efficiency and specification error. Semiparametric estimators can assume general forms within classes of functional forms. This paper applies OLS, the kernel nonparametric regression estimator, and the semiparametric estimator of Powell, Stock, and Stoker (1989) to a data set, which should, based on theory and previous empirical work, yield positive coefficients. The semiparametric estimator, on average, displayed the performance most consistent with prior expectations followed by the nonparametric and parametric estimators. In addition, the paper shows how the semiparametric estimator can provide insights into the form of misspecification and suggest data transformations.
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An automated price reporting system developed through computer technology and hedonic price theory is used to estimate daily cotton market prices, premiums, and discounts. This objective approach for reporting cotton market prices was developed to complement the objective measures of high volume instrument grading of cotton. The computerized, econometric system is limited to the Texas and Oklahoma marketing regions where sales are readily available from electronic markets. The econometric based system has shown all the characteristics of an efficient price reporting system; it is accurate, reliable, consistent, and repeatable in its working process and price estimates.
The impact of functional and social value on the price of goods
PLOS ONE
According to hedonic pricing theory (HPT) market forces operate on individual characteristics of a good, and the price of a product is the aggregate of the price across those characteristics. The relationship between price and characteristics remains poorly understood because characteristic qualities are hard to quantify, people have varying levels of information about characteristics, and people have heterogeneous preferences over characteristics. By analyzing data from a large, market-driven virtual world we are able to test HPT, while largely avoiding these pitfalls. We find that a linear model with functional characteristics predicts the prices poorly, but a log-linear model performs quite well. Adding social characteristics to this log-linear model improves the predictions substantially. This work strongly supports HPT and demonstrates a "rational" calculus including social value.
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Journal of Applied Econometrics, 2008
In the area of environmental analysis using hedonic price models, we investigate the performance of various nonparametric and semiparametric specifications. The proposed model specifications are made up of two parts: a linear component for house characteristics and a non-(semi)parametric component representing the nonlinear influence of environmental indicators on house prices. We adopt a general-to-specific search procedure, based on recent specification tests comparing the proposed specifications with a fully nonparametric benchmark model, to select the best model specification. An application of these semiparametric models to rural districts indicates that pollution resulting from intensive livestock farming has a significant nonlinear impact on house prices.
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Hedonic pricing models attempt to model a relationship between object attributes and the object's price. Traditional hedonic pricing models are often parametric models that suffer from misspecification. In this paper we create these models by means of boosted CART models. The method is explained in detail and applied to various datasets. Empirically, we find substantial reduction of errors on out-of-sample data for two out of three datasets compared with a stepwise linear regression model. We interpret the boosted models by partial dependence plots and relative importance plots. This reveals some interesting nonlinearities and differences in attribute importance across the model types. Categorical Name Levels Country France (13) Germany (40) Italy (3) Japan (99) USA (20) UK (3) Sweden (17) FuelType diesel (20) gas (185) Aspiration standard (168) turbo (37) BodyStyle convertible (6) hardtop (8) hatchback (70) sedan (96) wagon Drive-wheels 4wd (9) fwd (120) rwd (76) EngineLocation front (202) rear EngineType dohc (12) dohcv (1) l (12) ohc (148) ohcf (15) ohcv (13) rotor (4) FuelSystem 1bbl 2bbl 4bbl idi mfi (1) mpfi (94) spdi (9) spfi (1) Numerical Name Avg Stdv Min Max (Missing)
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Construction quality (CQ) (materials, workmanship, etc.) is negatively correlated with pollution in urban areas. In consequence, conventional methods for estimating the implicit price of air quality in a hedonic price will result in an upward bias when information on CQ is unavailable, which is typically the case. Because the distribution of CQ across properties is asymmetric, a heteroskedastic frontier regression model can mitigate the bias. This approach is demonstrated for a hedonic price function that values air quality in Bogota, Colombia.
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Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2007
The price of a product depends on its characteristics and will vary in dynamic markets. The model describes a processing firm that bids in an auction for a heterogeneous and perishable input. The reduced form of this model is estimated as an expanded random parameter model that combines a nonlinear hedonic bid function and inverse input demand functions for characteristics. The model was estimated by using 289,405 transactions from the Icelandic fish auctions. Total catch and gut ratio were the main determinants of marginal prices of characteristics, while the price of cod mainly depended on size, gutting and storage.
Hypothesis testing in hedonic price estimation - On the selection of independent variables
The Annals of Regional Science, 2000
Various approaches to hypothesis testing have been used in the past for the purpose of estimating hedonic price equations. The criteria for testing and rejecting explanatory variables have however rarely been made explicit. This paper argues that the results of earlier studies should be used according to structured and not overly arbitrary criteria for selecting which variables to test as well as for their subsequent acceptance or rejection. An explanatory analysis of Singapore's condominium market is used as an empirical illustration of the decision rule for variable selection proposed in the methodological part of the paper.