Abstract
Indirect inference is a simulation-based method for estimating the parameters of economic models. Its hallmark is the use of an auxiliary model to capture aspects of the data upon which to base the estimation. The parameters of the auxiliary model can be estimated using either the observed data or data simulated from the economic model. Indirect inference chooses the parameters of the economic model so that these two estimates of the parameters of the auxiliary model are as close as possible. The auxiliary model need not be correctly specified; when it is, indirect inference is equivalent to maximum likelihood.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Smith, A.A. (2008). Indirect Inference. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2509-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2509-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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