Skip to content
Prev 105695 / 398503 Next

Heteroscedasticity consistent standard errors for Spatial error models

On Thu, 7 Dec 2006, Achim Zeileis wrote:

            
Typically, the use of HC covariances with these kinds of models is an 
inappropriate fix for missing variables and possibly also wrong functional 
forms. Some supervisors want them, but in practice fitting a better 
specified model is superior. It is also possible to sample from the fitted 
model - I've been looking at MH sampling from MCMCpack - and that I feel 
is a way to go if the model is badly specified and you can't do anything 
about it. 

Settings where "natural experiments" exist are also very helpful, with
shifts in coefficient values and/or standard errors indicating whether the
hypothesised cause of difference actually had an effect.

It can probably be done, and some journals/referees/supervisors etc. want 
HC covariances, but I'm afraid that doesn't necessarily mean that they are 
any use in practice with these pretty rough kinds of models.

Roger