Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation

Guido Imbens and Jeffrey Wooldridge

No 3640, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Many empirical questions in economics and other social sciences depend on causal effects of programs or policies. In the last two decades much research has been done on the econometric and statistical analysis of the effects of such programs or treatments. This recent theoretical literature has built on, and combined features of, earlier work in both the statistics and econometrics literatures. It has by now reached a level of maturity that makes it an important tool in many areas of empirical research in economics, including labor economics, public finance, development economics, industrial organization and other areas of empirical micro-economics. In this review we discuss some of the recent developments. We focus primarily on practical issues for empirical researchers, as well as provide a historical overview of the area and give references to more technical research.

Keywords: potential outcomes; Rubin Causal Model; unconfoundedness; causality; program evaluation; instrumental variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 C21 C52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 94 pages
Date: 2008-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-ppm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (165)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Literature, 2009, 47(1), 1-81

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Journal Article: Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation (2009)
Working Paper: Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation (2009)
Working Paper: Recent developments in the econometrics of program evaluation (2008)
Working Paper: Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation (2008)
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