Evaluating the Effect of an Antidiscrimination Law Using a Regression-Discontinuity Design

Jinyong Hahn, Petra Elisabeth Todd and Wilbert H van der Klaauw ()

No 7131, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The regression discontinuity (RD) data design is a quasi-experimental design with the defining characteristic that the probability of receiving treatment changes discontinuously as a function of one or more individual characteristics. This data design occasionally arises in economic and other applications but is only infrequently exploited in evaluating the effects of a treatment. We consider the problem of identification and estimation of treatment effects under a RD data design. We offer an interpretation of the IV or so-called Wald estimator as a regression discontinuity estimator. We propose nonparametric estimators of treatment effects and present their asymptotic distribution theory. Then we apply the estimation method to evaluate the effect of EEOC-coverage on minority employment in small U.S. firms.

JEL-codes: C14 C51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999-05
Note: LS
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