More on testing the normality assumptionin the Tobit Model

Abstract

In a recent volume of this journal, Holden [Testing the normality assumption in the Tobit Model, J. Appl. Stat. 31 (2004) pp. 521–532] presents Monte Carlo evidence comparing several tests for departures from normality in the Tobit Model. This study adds to the work of Holden by considering another test, and several information criteria, for detecting departures from normality in the Tobit Model. The test given here is a modified likelihood ratio statistic based on a partially adaptive estimator of the Censored Regression Model using the approach of Caudill [A partially adaptive estimator for the Censored Regression Model based on a mixture of normal distributions, Working Paper, Department of Economics, Auburn University, 2007]. The information criteria examined include the Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC), the Consistent AIC (CAIC), the Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and the Akaike’s BIC (ABIC). In terms of fewest ‘rejections’ of a true null, the best performance is exhibited by the CAIC and the BIC, although, like some of the statistics examined by Holden, there are computational difficulties with each.