Doing More When You're Running LATE: Applying Marginal Treatment Effect Methods to Examine Treatment Effect Heterogeneity in Experiments

Amanda Kowalski

No 22363, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: I examine treatment effect heterogeneity within an experiment to inform external validity. The local average treatment effect (LATE) gives an average treatment effect for compliers. I bound and estimate average treatment effects for always takers and never takers by extending marginal treatment effect methods. I use these methods to separate selection from treatment effect heterogeneity, generalizing the comparison of OLS to LATE. Applying these methods to the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, I find that the treatment effect of insurance on emergency room utilization decreases from always takers to compliers to never takers. Previous utilization explains a large share of the treatment effect heterogeneity. Extrapolations show that other expansions could increase or decrease utilization.

JEL-codes: C1 C9 H4 I13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
Note: AG EH LS PE TWP
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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Working Paper: Doing more when you're running LATE: Applying marginal treatment effect methods to examine treatment effect heterogeneity in experiments (2016)
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