The Performance of German Firms in the Business-Related Service Sectors Revisited: Differential Evolution Markov Chain Estimation of the Multinomial Probit Model

Abstract

We outline a new estimation method for the multinomial probit model (MNP). The method is a differential evolution Markov chain algorithm that employs a Metropolis-within-Gibbs sampler with data augmentation and the Geweke-Hajivassiliou-Keane (GHK) probability simulator. The method lifts the curse of dimensionality in numerical integration as it neither requires simulation of the whole likelihood function nor the computation of its analytical or numerical derivatives. The method is applied to an unbalanced panel dataset of firms from the German business-related service sector over the period 1994-2000. In spite of its less restricted character, the MNP model is found not to provide more accurate estimates for explaining the performance of these firms than the multinomial logit model. © 2011 The Author(s).