Nonparametric Tests for Bivariate Stochastic Dominance without Continuity Assumptions

Abstract: The use of Kolmogorov-Smirnov-type statistics for testing stochastic dominance goes back to McFadden (1989). In this paper we extend the approach of Barret and Donald (2003) to the bivariate case, without the assumption of absolute continuity for the underlying distributions. Using empirical processes theory and bootstrap techniques we obtain consis- tent nonparametric tests for bivariate first and second order stochastic dominance, over several modularity classes of test functions. This tests are in turn useful tools in applied fields such as multidimensional eco- nomic inequality as shown by Perez (2015).