Instrumental variables for binary treatments with heterogeneous treatment effects: a simple exposition

Manning, Alan ORCID: 0000-0002-7884-3580 (2004) Instrumental variables for binary treatments with heterogeneous treatment effects: a simple exposition. CEPDP (619). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK. ISBN 0753017210

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Abstract

This note provides a simple exposition of what IV can and cannot estimate in a model with a binary treatment variable and heterogeneous treatment effects. It shows how linear IV is a misspecification of functional form and the reason why linear IV estimates for this model will always depend on the instrument used is because of this misspecification. It shows that if one can estimate the correct functional form (non-linear IV) then the treatment effects are independent of the instrument used. However, the data may not be rich enough in practice to be able to identify these treatment effects without strong distributional assumptions. In this case, one will have to settle for estimates of treatment effects that are instrument-dependent.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk
Additional Information:	© 2004 Alan Manning
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Econometric Methods: Single Equation Models; Single Variables
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2008 13:33
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 18:37
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/19983

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