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Reasonable uncertainty: Confidence intervals in empirical Bayes discrimination detection

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  • Jiaying Gu
  • Nikolaos Ignatiadis
  • Azeem M. Shaikh

Abstract

We revisit empirical Bayes discrimination detection, focusing on uncertainty arising from both partial identification and sampling variability. While prior work has mostly focused on partial identification, we find that some empirical findings are not robust to sampling uncertainty. To better connect statistical evidence to the magnitude of real-world discriminatory behavior, we propose a counterfactual odds-ratio estimand with a attractive properties and interpretation. Our analysis reveals the importance of careful attention to uncertainty quantification and downstream goals in empirical Bayes analyses.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiaying Gu & Nikolaos Ignatiadis & Azeem M. Shaikh, 2025. "Reasonable uncertainty: Confidence intervals in empirical Bayes discrimination detection," Papers 2508.13110, arXiv.org.
  • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2508.13110
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patrick Kline & Evan K. Rose & Christopher R. Walters, 2024. "A Discrimination Report Card," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(8), pages 2472-2525, August.
    2. Kyle Rozema & Max Schanzenbach, 2019. "Good Cop, Bad Cop: Using Civilian Allegations to Predict Police Misconduct," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 225-268, May.
    3. Frederic Lord & Martha Stocking, 1976. "An interval estimate for making statistical inferences about true scores," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 41(1), pages 79-87, March.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
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