Models, Methods, and Applications of Econometrics
Essays in Honor of A.R. Bergstrom

Peter C.B. Phillips, editor
Basil Blackwell 1993

Preface

This volume of essays has been assembled to honor Rex Bergstrom as a Festschrift on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. The scholars who have contributed to the volume form a truly international group. Some have had the good fortune to study under Rex and learn directly from his guidance as a teacher or a thesis adviser. Others have worked with Rex and appreciate his insight and wisdom as a colleague. All of us have been inspired and influenced by his research. As the editor of this volume, it is a privilege for me to bring together and present to Rex this fine collection of essays, which in their breadth of themes and concern for fundamentals together reflect the extent of Rex's own interest in economic modeling and in the theory and application of econometrics.

Some years ago, when he was appointed Professor of Econometrics at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, Rex Bergstrom wrote a short essay entitled "What is Econometrics?" that was published in the University of Auckland Gazette. That essay, which is reprinted here with the kind permission of Rex and the University of Auckland, describes the main activities of econometrics in a characteristically lucid and economical way. The title of this present volume and the essays that it includes both reflect these different activities: the formulation of econometric models; statistical estimation and testing; empirical applications and prediction. One of the distinctive features of Rex Bergstrom's own lifetime of research is that he has maintained a strong commitment to the pursuit of excellence in each of these major activities, frequently bringing them together in a powerful way to illustrate the empirical advantages of new econometric methodology.

In teaching as well as in research, Rex Bergstrom has made substantial contributions to the econometrics communities of Britain and New Zealand over the last 40 years. In both countries scholars of many generations have been guided by his example and are proud to carry with them the Bergstrom pedigree in their later careers. In New Zealand some of Rex's former students are now leaders in the business community as well as the university professoriate. Those of us who studied under Rex know well the inspiration and longevity of his teachings and his personal dedication to the best in research.

To honor Rex and to promote the subject of econometrics in his home country of New Zealand, Viv Hall and I have established a Scholarship Fund to support a Prize for research excellence in econometrics among young New Zealanders. Viv Hall helped in the early stages of planning this volume and together we decided to seek funding for an econometrics prize in honor of Rex. The prize is formally announced in this volume as The A. R. Bergstrom Prize in Econometrics. It has been established with the financial sponsorship of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics at the University of Auckland, the Economics Department of the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, the Department of Economics and Marketing at Lincoln University, the Faculty of Commerce and Administration at Victoria University, and the New Zealand Association of Economists as well as numerous individual sponsorships. Royalties from this Festschrift will also contribute to the funding of the Prize. Information about the Prize and its administration are given in the formal announcement in part I of this volume. The sponsors, Viv Hall and I all hope that this Prize will help to promote among young New Zealand scholars the Bergstrom tradition of excellence in econometrics under which many others of an earlier generation were nurtured.

This volume would never have been possible without the willingness of its many contributors to produce this joint mark of respect for Rex Bergstrom. I thank all of the contributing authors for supporting this volume with their research. It is an honor for me to put their essays together in this combined tribute to Rex Bergstrom.