Finite mixture distributions are a weighted average of a finite number of distributions. The latter are usually called the mixture components. The weights are usually described by a multinomial distribution and are sometimes called mixing proportions. The mixture components may be the same type of distributions with di®erent parameter values but they may also be completely different distributions. Therefore, finite mixture distributions are very °exible for modeling data. They are frequently used as a building block within many modern econometric models. The specification of the mixture distribution depends on the modeling problem at hand. In this thesis, we introduce new applications of finite mixtures to deal with several di®erent modeling issues. Each chapter of the thesis focusses on a specific modeling issue. The parameters of some of the resulting models can be estimated using standard techniques but for some of the chapters we need to develop new estimation and inference methods. To illustrate how the methods can be applied, we analyze at least one empirical data set for each approach. These data sets cover a wide range of research fields, such as macroeconomics, marketing, and political science. We show the usefulness of the methods and, in some cases, the improvement over previous methods in the literature.

There have been major developments in the field of statistics over the last quarter century, spurred by the rapid advances in computing and data-measurement technologies. These developments have revolutionized the field and have greatly influenced research directions in theory and methodology. Increased computing power has spawned entirely new areas of research in computationally-intensive methods, allowing us to move away from narrowly applicable parametric techniques based on restrictive assumptions to much more flexible and realistic models and methods. These computational advances have also led to the extensive use of simulation and Monte Carlo techniques in statistical inference. All of these developments have, in turn, stimulated new research in theoretical statistics.This volume provides an up-to-date overview of recent advances in statistical modeling and inference. Written by renowned researchers from across the world, it discusses flexible models, semi-parametric methods and transformation models, nonparametric regression and mixture models, survival and reliability analysis, and re-sampling techniques. With its coverage of methodology and theory as well as applications, the book is an essential reference for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners.