TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Duleep, Harriet
AU  - Liu, Xingfei
        TI  - Estimating More Precise Treatment Effects in Natural and Actual Experiments
        PY  - 2016/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 10055
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp10055
        AB  - The importance of using natural experiments and experimental data in economic research has long been recognized. Yet, it is only in recent years that these approaches have become an integral part of the economist's analytical toolbox, thanks to the efforts of Meyer, Card, Peters, Krueger, Gruber, and others. This use has shed new light on a variety of public policy issues and has already caused a major challenge to some tightly held beliefs in economics, most vividly illustrated by the finding of a positive effect of a minimum wage increase on the employment of low-wage workers. Although currently in vogue in economic research, the analysis of experimental data and natural experiments could be substantially strengthened. This paper discusses how analysts could increase the precision with which they measure treatment effects. An underlying theme is how best to measure the effect of a treatment on a variable, as opposed to explaining a level or change in a variable.
        KW  - experimental approach
KW  - average of differences
KW  - differences in averages
KW  - precision of treatment effects
KW  - natural experiment
KW  - policy evaluation
        ER  -