Roodman (2009) is an ideal example of how a complex topic in econometrics can be simplified and communicated to a wider audience beyond the realm of econometrics. Researchers from fields other than econometrics may have limited to intermediate levels of knowledge about econometrics and need not have more than this, it is simply not their thing! For them, econometric tools and applications are simply means of conducting research.
His paper is well structured and easy to read and follow, which explains the popularity of the xtabond2 command among researchers from different related disciplines (e.g., accounting, finance, management, and marketing). For me, apart from the commonly used matrix notations in intermediate econometric textbooks, some of the technical content of Roodman (2009) is merely econometric jargon, however, the author compensates for this by providing a jargon-free narrative with pedagogical emphasis. This combination of technical and pedagogical elements allowed the paper and its related command to have a wider outreach.
I encountered many user-written commands recently, some of them as old as xtabond2 or even older, yet their application is largely limited due to poor communication with the audience beyond econometrics. I hope that this message attracts the attention of those involved in code development in the Stata community. I believe that this issue deserves greater attention as the practical consequences could be significant!
Reference
Roodman, D. (2009). How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata. Stata Journal, 9(1), 86–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867x0900900106
His paper is well structured and easy to read and follow, which explains the popularity of the xtabond2 command among researchers from different related disciplines (e.g., accounting, finance, management, and marketing). For me, apart from the commonly used matrix notations in intermediate econometric textbooks, some of the technical content of Roodman (2009) is merely econometric jargon, however, the author compensates for this by providing a jargon-free narrative with pedagogical emphasis. This combination of technical and pedagogical elements allowed the paper and its related command to have a wider outreach.
I encountered many user-written commands recently, some of them as old as xtabond2 or even older, yet their application is largely limited due to poor communication with the audience beyond econometrics. I hope that this message attracts the attention of those involved in code development in the Stata community. I believe that this issue deserves greater attention as the practical consequences could be significant!
Reference
Roodman, D. (2009). How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata. Stata Journal, 9(1), 86–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867x0900900106
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