A computationally fast estimator for random coefficients logit demand models using aggregate data. (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Jinhyuk; Seo, Kyoungwon
• Is Part Of: Rand journal of economics. Volume 46:Number 1(2015:Spring)
• Page Start: 86
• Page End: 102
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: Industrial organization (Economic theory) -- Periodicals; Microeconomics -- Periodicals; Services publics -- Périodiques; Économie industrielle -- Périodiques; Microéconomie -- Périodiques; 338.6
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12078
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0741-6261

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>This article proposes a computationally fast estimator for random coefficients logit demand models using aggregate data that Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (<xref ref-type="link" rid="rand12078-bib-0003">1995</xref>; hereinafter, BLP) suggest. Our method, which we call approximate BLP (ABLP), is based on a linear approximation of market share functions. The computational advantages of ABLP include (i) the linear approximation enables us to adopt an analytic inversion of the market share equations instead of a numerical inversion that BLP propose, (ii) ABLP solves the market share equations only at the optimum, and (iii) it minimizes over a typically small dimensional parameter space. We show that the ABLP estimator is equivalent to the BLP estimator in large data sets. Our Monte Carlo experiments illustrate that ABLP is faster than other approaches, especially for large data sets.</p> </abstract>