st: RE: Fixed Effects estimation with time-invariant variables

["Jacobs, David" <jacobs.184@sociology.osu.edu>]

I don't understand how you can interact anything with a dependent variable.  Do you mean the lag of such a variable used as an explanatory variable?  If so, you still cannot analyze time-invariant dependent variable with either -xtreg random-effects- or -xtreg, fe- routines.  The dependent variable must change.  

Unless your use of the term "dependent variable" was mistaken, I suggest you carefully read the beginning of the Xt manual and the chapter on -xtreg-.

Dave Jacobs

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu [mailto:owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu] On Behalf Of Roman Wörner
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 12:01 PM
To: statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
Subject: st: Fixed Effects estimation with time-invariant variables

Dear all,

I am a doctoral student and rather new to STATA and statistics in general. I am thus struggling with a question I hope some of you are familiar with.

My dataset is an unbalanced panel with N=328 and T=8. I plan to used fixed effects models to control for differences between the firms in my sample. I am aware that with fixed effects models one cannot use time-invariant dependent variables. Nevertheless, I've read that it is possible to include time-invariant dependent variables when you interact them with another (time-variant) regressor.

Basically I have three variable of interest: two time-variant variables describing different firm strategies and a time-invariant variable describing the vertical scope (% of value chain steps of the industry the firm is active in; vertical scope takes on the values 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1) of the firm. I argue that the relationship of the two strategy-variables depends on the vertical scope of the firm - for focused firms the two strategies are complements, while they are substitutes for firms with a broad scope.

I thus would run the following regression:

StrategyA = b0 + b1*StrategyB + b2*StrategyBXScope + Controls

I expect b1 to be positive and b2 to be negative. If that's the case I would interpret it that way, that an increase in the breadth of the scope reduces the complementarity between the two strategies (I would contrast combinations of StrategyA and StrategyB for different levels of Scope). I am wondering if this combination xtreg, fixed effects, time-variant and time-invariant variables are a valid design and allow for the conclusions I'd like to draw.

I am very grateful for all comments and recommendations.

Many thanks and best regards,

Roman

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