Regression Discontinuity Designs

Matias D. Cattaneo; Rocio Titiunik

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arXiv · 2108.09400

Regression Discontinuity Designs

Matias D. Cattaneo·Rocio Titiunik

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Abstract

The Regression Discontinuity (RD) design is one of the most widely used non-experimental methods for causal inference and program evaluation. Over the last two decades, statistical and econometric methods for RD analysis have expanded and matured, and there is now a large number of methodological results for RD identification, estimation, inference, and validation. We offer a curated review of this methodological literature organized around the two most popular frameworks for the analysis and interpretation of RD designs: the continuity framework and the local randomization framework. For each framework, we discuss three main topics: (i) designs and parameters, which focuses on different types of RD settings and treatment effects of interest; (ii) estimation and inference, which presents the most popular methods based on local polynomial regression and analysis of experiments, as well as refinements, extensions, and alternatives; and (iii) validation and falsification, which summarizes an array of mostly empirical approaches to support the validity of RD designs in practice.

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Matias D. Cattaneo, Rocio Titiunik. 2022-02-24. Regression Discontinuity Designs. https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.09400

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