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Treatment choice, mean square regret and partial identification

Author

Listed:
  • Toru Kitagawa

    (Brown University
    University College London)

  • Sokbae Lee

    (Columbia University)

  • Chen Qiu

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

We consider a decision maker who faces a binary treatment choice when their welfare is only partially identified from data. We contribute to the literature by anchoring our finite-sample analysis on mean square regret, a decision criterion advocated by Kitagawa et al. in (2022) "Treatment Choice with Nonlinear Regret" . We find that optimal rules are always fractional, irrespective of the width of the identified set and precision of its estimate. The optimal treatment fraction is a simple logistic transformation of the commonly used t-statistic multiplied by a factor calculated by a simple constrained optimization. This treatment fraction gets closer to 0.5 as the width of the identified set becomes wider, implying the decision maker becomes more cautious against the adversarial Nature.

Suggested Citation

  • Toru Kitagawa & Sokbae Lee & Chen Qiu, 2023. "Treatment choice, mean square regret and partial identification," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 573-602, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecrev:v:74:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s42973-023-00144-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s42973-023-00144-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eric Mbakop & Max Tabord‐Meehan, 2021. "Model Selection for Treatment Choice: Penalized Welfare Maximization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(2), pages 825-848, March.
    2. Charles F. Manski, 1989. "Anatomy of the Selection Problem," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(3), pages 343-360.
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