Difference-in-Differences Designs: A Practitioner's Guide

Andrew Baker, Brantly Callaway VI, Scott Cunningham, Andrew Goodman-Bacon and Pedro H. C. Sant'Anna

Journal of Economic Literature, 2026, vol. 64, issue 2, 498-557

Abstract: Difference-in-differences (DiD) is arguably the most popular quasi-experimental research design. Its canonical form, with two groups and two periods, is well understood. However, empirical practices can be ad hoc when researchers go beyond that simple case. This article provides an organizing framework for discussing different types of DiD designs and their associated DiD estimators. It discusses covariates, weights, handling multiple periods, and staggered treatments. The organizational framework, however, applies to other extensions of DiD methods as well.

JEL-codes: C23 H75 I12 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1257/jel.20251650

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