-xtreg, fe- with a count variable as control variable

[Jana Schue]

Hello forum,

regarding my linear regression using -xtreg, fe- with panel data, I have a general question about control variables. I use -xtreg, fe- because I have a dependent variable which is a decimal number (in this case it is Tobin's q). As a control variable I want to take, among others, a variable that is a count variable (patent count). Is this possible at all with -xtreg, fe-? Because for a regression with a count variable as dependent variable you would take -xtpoisson- or -xtnbreg-.
I get at least results for the regression out with stata with this command:

xtreg tq purpose cf growth lev pcount capex adex os i.fyear, fe vce(cluster gvkey)

I would be very happy about help!
Many greetings and thanks, Jana

[Clyde Schechter]

Yes it's OK. Regression commands do not care about the nature (nominal, count, continuous) of their independent variables. The only issue you have to worry about, and this applies whether we are talking about a count variable or a continuous variable, is whether the assumption of linearity of the relationship with tq over the range of the variable makes sense.

[Jana Schue]

Thank you very much, Clyde!