Université de Fribourg

The finite sample performance of inference methods for propensity score matching and weighting estimators

Bodory, Hugo ; Huber, Martin ; Camponovo, Lorenzo ; Lechner, Michael

(Working Papers SES ; 466)

This paper investigates the finite sample properties of a range of inference methods for propensity score-based matching and weighting estimators frequently applied to evaluate the average treatment effect on the treated. We analyse both asymptotic approximations and bootstrap methods for computing variances and confidence intervals in our simulation design, which is based on large scale labor...

Université de Fribourg

Testing the validity of the compulsory schooling law instrument

Bolzern, Benjamin ; Huber, Martin

(Working Papers SES ; 480)

Changes in compulsory schooling laws have been proposed as an instrument for the endogenous choice of schooling. It has been argued that raising minimum schooling exogenously increases the educational attainment of a subset of pupils without directly affecting later life outcomes such as income or health. Using the method of Huber and Mellace (2015) and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and...

Université de Fribourg

It's never too LATE : A new look at local average treatment effects with or without defiers

Dahl, Christian M. ; Huber, Martin ; Mellace, Giovanni

In: Discussion papers on business and economics, 2017, vol. 2, p. 1-69

In heterogeneous treatment effect models with endogeneity, identification of the LATE typically relies on the availability of an exogenous instrument monotonically related to treatment participation. We demonstrate that a strictly weaker local monotonicity condition identifies the LATEs on compliers and on defiers. We propose simple estimators that are potentially more efficient than 2SLS,...

Université de Fribourg

Direct and indirect effects based on difference-in-differences with an application to political preferences following the Vietnam draft lottery

Deuchert, Eva ; Huber, Martin ; Schelker, Mark

(Working Papers SES ; 473 (revised))

This paper proposes a difference-in-differences approach for disentangling a total treatment effect on some outcome into a direct effect as well as an indirect effect operating through a binary intermediate variable – or mediator – within strata defined upon how the mediator reacts to the treatment. Imposing random treatment assignment along with specific common trend (and further)...

Université de Fribourg

Direct and indirect effects based on difference-in-differences with an application to political preferences following the Vietnam draft lottery

Deuchert, Eva ; Huber, Martin ; Schelker, Mark

(Working Papers SES ; 473)

This study empirically evaluates the impact of the war in eastern Ukraine on the political attitudes aThis paper proposes a difference-in-differences approach for disentangling a total treatment effect on some outcome into a direct impact as well as an indirect effect operating through a binary intermediate variable – or mediator – within strata defined upon how the mediator reacts to the...

Université de Fribourg

Direct and indirect treatment effects - causal chains and mediation analysis with instrumental variables

Fröhlich, Markus ; Huber, Martin

In: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, 2017, vol. 79, no. 5, p. 1645-1666

The paper discusses the non‐parametric identification of causal direct and indirect effects of a binary treatment based on instrumental variables. We identify the indirect effect, which operates through a mediator (i.e. intermediate variable) that is situated on the causal path between the treatment and the outcome, as well as the unmediated direct effect of the treatment by using distinct...

Université de Fribourg

Evaluating local average and quantile treatment effects under endogeneity based on instruments : a review

Huber, Martin ; Wüthrich, Kaspar

(Working Papers SES ; 479)

This paper provides a review of methodological advancements in the evaluation of heterogeneous treatment effect models based on instrumental variable (IV) methods. We focus on models that achieve identification through a monotonicity assumption on the selection equation and analyze local average and quantile treatment effects for the subpopulation of compliers. We start with a comprehensive...

Université de Fribourg

An introduction to flexible methods for policy evaluation

Huber, Martin

(Working Papers SES ; 504)

This chapter covers different approaches to policy evaluation for assessing the causal effect of a treatment or intervention on an outcome of interest. As an introduction to causal inference, the discussion starts with the experimental evaluation of a randomized treatment. It then reviews evaluation methods based on selection on observables (assuming a quasi-random treatment given observed...

Université de Fribourg

Evaluating an information campaign about rural development policies in (FYR) Macedonia

Huber, Martin ; Kotevska, Ana ; Martinovska-Stojcheska, Aleksandra‏ ; Solovyeva, Anna

(Working Papers SES ; 469)

This paper investigates the effects of an information campaign about a governmental rural development program (RDP) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the farmers’ intention to participate in the RDP. In the course of a survey among farmers, the treatment group received an information brochure with relevant details on selected RDP measures, while the control group received no...

Université de Fribourg

Evaluating an Information Campaign about Rural Development Policies in FYR Macedonia

Huber, Martin ; Kotevska, Ana ; Martinovska Stojcheska, Aleksandra ; Solovyeva, Anna

In: Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2019, vol. 48, no. 1, p. 117-141

This study investigates the effects of a local information campaign on farmers’ interest in a rural development programme (RDP) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The results suggest that while our intervention succeeded in informing farmers, it had a negative, albeit only marginally significant, effect on the reported possibility of using future RDP support. This puzzling result...