Testing the Equality of Nonparametric Regression Curves

Abstract

This paper proposes a test for the equality of nonparametric regression curves that does not depend on the choice of a smoothing number. The test statistic resembles in spirit the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic and it is easy to compute. It is powerful under alternatives that converge to the null hypothesis at a rate n ^ (-1/2). The disturbance distributions are arbitrary and possibly unequal, and conditions on the regressors distribution are very mild. A Monte Carlo study illustrates the performance of the test in small and moderate samples. We also study extensions to multiple regression, and test the equality of several regression curves.