Ordinal regression models: Problems, solutions, and problems with the solutions

Richard Williams
Additional contact information
Richard Williams: University of Notre Dame

German Stata Users' Group Meetings 2008 from Stata Users Group

Abstract: Ordered logit/probit models are among the most popular ordinal regression techniques. However, these models often have serious problems. The proportional odds/parallel lines assumptions made by these methods are often violated. Further, because of the way these models are identified, they have many of the same limitations as are encountered when analyzing standardized coefficients in OLS regression, e.g., interaction terms and crosspopulation comparisons of effects can be highly misleading. This paper shows how generalized ordered logit/probit models (estimated via gologit2) and heterogeneous choice/location scale models (estimated via oglm) can often address these concerns in ways that are more parsimonious and easier to interpret than is the case with other suggested alternatives. At the same time, the paper cautions that these methods sometimes raise their own concerns that researchers need to be aware of and know how to deal with. First, misspecified models can create worse problems than the ones these methods were designed to solve. Second, estimates are sometimes implausible, suggesting that the data are being spread too thin and/or yet another method is needed. Third, multiple and very different interpretations of the same results are often possible and plausible. I will present guidelines for identifying and dealing with each of these problems.

Date: 2008-07-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/dsug2008/GSUG2008.pdf (application/pdf)
http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/dsug2008/GSUG2008-Handout.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:boc:dsug08:03

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in German Stata Users' Group Meetings 2008 from Stata Users Group Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().