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Synthetic Learner: Model-free inference on treatments over time

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  • Viviano, Davide
  • Bradic, Jelena

Abstract

Understanding the effect of a particular treatment or a policy pertains to many areas of interest, ranging from political economics, marketing to healthcare. In this paper, we develop a non-parametric algorithm for detecting the effects of treatment over time in the context of Synthetic Controls. The method builds on counterfactual predictions from many algorithms without necessarily assuming that the algorithms correctly capture the model. We introduce an inferential procedure to detect treatment effects and show that the testing procedure controls size asymptotically for stationary, beta mixing processes without imposing any restriction on the set of base algorithms under consideration. We discuss consistency guarantees for average treatment effect estimates and derive regret bounds for the proposed methodology. The class of algorithms may include Random Forest, Lasso, or any other machine-learning estimator. Numerical studies and an application illustrate the advantages of the method.

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  • Viviano, Davide & Bradic, Jelena, 2023. "Synthetic Learner: Model-free inference on treatments over time," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 234(2), pages 691-713.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:econom:v:234:y:2023:i:2:p:691-713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconom.2022.07.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Guido W. Imbens & Davide Viviano, 2023. "Identification and Inference for Synthetic Controls with Confounding," Papers 2312.00955, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Synthetic control; Difference in differences; Causal inference; Random Forests;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C10 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - General
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C20 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - General
    • C30 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - General

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