Faculty Staff Profile

ETF3200

Analysis of Panel Data, Cross Sectional Dependence, Clustering Analysis.

Working Papers:

GMM Estimation of Short Dynamic Panel Data Models With Error Cross-Sectional Dependence.

IV Estimation of Panels with Factor Residuals, with Donald Robertson and James Symons.

Instrumental Variable Estimation of Dynamic Linear Panel Data Models with Defactored Regressors under Cross-sectional Dependence, with Takashi Yamagata.

A Partially Heterogeneous Framework for Analyzing Panel Data, with Neville Weber.

Crime and Punishment Revisited, with Richard Kelaher.

Selected Publications:

Sarafidis V., and T. Wansbeek (2012) Cross-sectional Dependence in Panel Data Analysis. Econometric Reviews, 31:5, 483-531.

Abrams B., Kumaradevan S., Sarafidis V., and F. Spaninks (2012). An Econometric Assessment of Pricing Sydney's Residential Water Use. Economic Record, 88, 89-105.

Sarafidis, V., Yamagata, T., and D. Robertson (2009). A Test of Cross Section Dependence for a Linear Dynamic Panel Model with Regressors. Journal of Econometrics , 148:2, 149-161.

Sarafidis V., and D. Robertson (2009). On the Impact of Error Cross-sectional Dependence in Short Dynamic Panel Estimation. The Econometrics Journal, 12:1, 62-81.

Blackburn V., Gerlach R., and V. Sarafidis (2007). Dynamic Budgetary Adjustments in the Australian State Government Finance Sector: An Econometric Approach. Journal of Economics and Management, 3:2, 125-159.

De Hoyos, R., and V. Sarafidis (2006). Testing for Cross-sectional Dependence in Panel Data Models. The Stata Journal., 6:4.

User Biography

Vasilis' background is in the areas of economics and econometrics. He received his BA (First Class Honours) in Economics with Computing and Quantitative Methods at the University of Sussex and his MPhil in Economics and Econometrics at the University of Cambridge. He completed his PhD in Econometrics in 2006 with a full ESRC scholarship at the University of Cambridge. Before studying for his PhD, he worked as an economist for a private consultancy in the City of London. During that time he led projects involving econometric analysis and modelling for the electricity, water and telecommunications sectors.

As a consultant he advised Ofwat - Office for Water Services (U.K.), Telestyrelsen - the national telecom agency in Denmark, the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, and the Electricity Association (U.K.). Recently he collaborated with Sydney Water Corporation in a joint research study that determines the residential price elasticity of water demand in Sydney and contributes to a current public policy debate on the issue of whether scarce pricing can be used effectively to balance supply and demand for water usage.

Vasilis' main area of research lies in panel data analysis. In particular, he is interested in estimation and statistical inference in models with unobserved heterogeneity, with current focus on models characterised by cross-sectional dependence and parameter heterogeneity. His research has been published in leading scientific journals in econometrics and statistics.

Vasilis has been a regular speaker at international conferences such as the World Congress of the Econometric Society, the International Conference on Panel Data, and the Far Eastern and South Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society. He is a founding member of MEAFA, a cross-disciplinary research network that promotes methodological advances in financial analysis. In 2009 he received the Dean's Citation award for his contribution to learning and teaching in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney. In 2011 he was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the Discipline of Operations Management and Econometrics at the University of Sydney.