spooky 'invalid base specification'

[Jeph Herrin]

I'm using -mi estimate- to estimate a mixed effects logit model using -melogit- (with the -cmdok- option); I'm getting an error I have not seen before, and for which I can find no mention anywhere online or in this forum:

invalid base specification
an error occurred when mi estimate executed melogit on m=1
no results will be saved
r(198);
r(198);

I assume 'invalid base specification' refers to a factor variable - there are several in the model, but I am not specifying the bases, just using defaults.

It gets stranger. My code looks like this:

forv t=1/10 {
      mi estimate, cmdok : melogit depvar  i.(xvar_*)  xcont if inlist(subgroup,`t') || id_cluster:
}

There's some -display- commands in the loop, nothing else; it runs fine the first 8 times, when it gets to t=9, it exits with the above error. However, if I then type

. mi estimate, cmdok : melogit death i.child i.(xvar_*) PS if inlist(subgroup,9) || id_cluster:

it runs fine. What gives?

[Jeph Herrin]

Never mind, I figured it out.

[Sarah Gnib]

I am having the same problem in 2020. How did you fix this?

[Joro Kolev]

Just before the command that is returning the error message type

set trace on

then look up in the code for the message in red, copy and paste here about 7 lines before the message in red, and about 3 lines after that, where you use code delimiters to that we can read formatted nicely.

I am having the same problem in 2020. How did you fix this?

[Sarah Gnib]

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- begin u_mi_estimate.mi_cmderr -------------
          - args cmdname m errok
          - if ("`errok'"!="") {
          = if (""!="") {
            local msg ", ignoring {it:m}=`m'"
            }
          - else {
          - local msg " on {it:m}=`m'"
          = local msg " on {it:m}=1"
          - }
          - di as err "{p 0}"
- di as err "an error occurred when {bf:mi} {bf:estimate} executed " an error occurred when mi estimate executed - di as err "{bf:`cmdname'}" _c = di as err "{bf:melogit}" _c
melogit - if ("`m'"!="") { = if ("1"!="") { - di as err `"`msg'"' = di as err `" on {it:m}=1"' on m=1 - } - di as err "{p_end}"
          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- end u_mi_estimate.mi_cmderr -------------
        - }
        - if ("`errok'"=="") {
        = if (""=="") {
        - exit `=max(`rc_cmd',`rc_nlcom')'
        = exit 2000

Hi Joro, Above is the set trace on results with the results directly above and below when the error occurs. Thank-you for your response!