In: Econometric reviews, 2014, vol. 33, no. 8, p. 869-905
Sample selection and attrition are inherent in a range of treatment evaluation problems such as the estimation of the returns to schooling or training. Conventional estimators tackling selection bias typically rely on restrictive functional form assumptions that are unlikely to hold in reality. This paper shows identification of average and quantile treatment effects in the presence of the...
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In: Eurasian geography and economics, 2014, vol. 55, no. 1, p. 10-36
This paper investigates regional differences in the perception of corruption and informal practices among Ukrainian firms. Using two different data sets from Ukraine, we show that perceived corruption differs significantly across regions, even when taking into account the size, industry, workforce composition, and other characteristics of the firms based on propensity score matching. In...
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In: Empirical economics, 2014, vol. 47, no. 1, p. 75-92
Standard sample selection models with non-randomly censored outcomes assume (i) an exclusion restriction (i.e., a variable affecting selection, but not the outcome) and (ii) additive separability of the errors in the selection process. This paper proposes tests for the joint satisfaction of these assumptions by applying the approach of Huber and Mellace (Testing instrument validity for LATE...
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In: Journal of the American Statistical Association, 2014, vol. 109, no. 508, p. 1697-1711
This article develops a nonparametric methodology for treatment evaluation with multiple outcome periods under treatment endogeneity and missing outcomes. We use instrumental variables, pretreatment characteristics, and short-term (or intermediate) outcomes to identify the average treatment effect on the outcomes of compliers (the subpopulation whose treatment reacts on the instrument) in...
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In: Journal of business & economic statistics, 2015, vol. 33, no. 2, p. 179-191
The decomposition of gender or ethnic wage gaps into explained and unexplained components (often with the aim to assess labor market discrimination) has been a major research agenda in empirical labor economics. This article demonstrates that conventional decompositions, no matter whether linear or nonparametric, are equivalent to assuming a (probably too) simple model of mediation (aimed at...
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In: Empirical economics, 2015, vol. 49, no. 1, p. 1-31
Using a simulation design that is based on empirical data, a recent study by Huber et al. (J Econom 175:1–21, 2013) finds that distance-weighted radius matching with bias adjustment as proposed in Lechneret et al. (J Eur Econ Assoc 9:742–784, 2011) is competitive among a broad range of propensity score-based estimators used to correct for mean differences due to observable covariates. In...
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(Working Papers SES ; 500)
Mediation analysis aims at evaluating the causal mechanisms through which a treatment or intervention affects an outcome of interest. The goal is to disentangle the total treatment effect into an indirect effect operating through one or several observed intermediate variables, the so-called mediators, as well as a direct effect reflecting any impact not captured by the observed mediator(s)....
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(Working Papers SES ; 499)
This paper presents the outcomes of an anti-corruption educational intervention among Ukrainian students based on an online experiment. More than 3,000 survey participants were randomly assigned to one of three different videos on corruption and its consequences (treatment groups) or a video on higher education (control group). The data suggest a high level of academic dishonesty and...
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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...
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In: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, 2018, vol. 181, no. 2, p. 441-463
This paper evaluates the effects of awarding vouchers for vocational training on the employment outcomes of unemployed voucher recipients in Germany, as well as the potential mechanism through which they operate. This study assesses the direct effects of voucher assignment net of actual redemption, which may be driven by preference shaping and learning about possible human capital investments...
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