Assessing Selection Bias in Non-Experimental Estimates of the Returns to Workplace Training

Jan Sauermann and Anders Stenberg

No 13789, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We assess selection bias in estimated returns to workplace training by exploiting a field experiment with random assignment of workers to a one-week training program. We compare experimental estimates of this program with non-experimental estimates that are estimated by using a sample of agents who were selected by management not to participate in the experiment. Our results show that non-experimental estimates are biased, yielding returns about twice as large as the causal effect. When controlling for pre-treatment performance or individual fixed effects, only about one tenth of this bias remains and is even further reduced when applying common support restrictions.

Keywords: selection bias; returns to training; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J24 M53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2020-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-lma and nep-ore
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp13789.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Assessing Selection Bias in Non-experimental Estimates of the Returns to Workplace Training (2021)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13789

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().