Modelling correlation matrices in multivariate data, with application to reciprocity and complementarity of child-parent exchanges of support

Siliang Zhang, Jouni Kuha and Fiona Steele

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We define a model for the joint distribution of multiple continuous latent variables, which includes a model for how their correlations depend on explanatory variables. This is motivated by and applied to social scientific research questions in the analysis of intergenerational help and support within families, where the correlations describe reciprocity of help between generations and complementarity of different kinds of help. We propose an MCMC procedure for estimating the model which maintains the positive definiteness of the implied correlation matrices and describe theoretical results which justify this approach and facilitate efficient implementation of it. The model is applied to data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study to analyse ex- changes of practical and financial support between adult individuals and their noncoresident parents.

Keywords: Bayesian estimation; covariance matrix modelling; item response theory models; positive definite matrices; two-step estimation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2024-12-31
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ecm
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Published in Annals of Applied Statistics, 31, December, 2024, 18(4), pp. 3024 - 3049. ISSN: 1932-6157

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