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Designing Experiments to Measure Spillover Effects, Second Version

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Baird

    (Department of Global Health, George Washington University)

  • Aislinn Bohren

    (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

  • Craig McIntosh

    (Department of Economics, UC San Diego)

  • Berk Ozler

    (The World Bank)

Abstract

This paper formalizes the design of experiments intended specifically to study spillover effects. By first randomizing the intensity of treatment within clusters and then randomly assigning individual treatment conditional on this cluster-level intensity, a novel set of treatment effects can be identified. We develop a formal framework for consistent estimation of these effects, and provide explicit expressions for power calculations. We show that the power to detect average treatment effects declines precisely with the quantity that identifies the novel treatment effects. A demonstration of the technique is provided using a cash transfer program in Malawi.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Baird & Aislinn Bohren & Craig McIntosh & Berk Ozler, 2015. "Designing Experiments to Measure Spillover Effects, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-021, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 01 Jun 2015.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:15-021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jesse Rothstein & Till von Wachter, 2016. "Social Experiments in the Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 22585, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Konstantin Büchel & Martina Jakob & Christoph Kühnhanss & Daniel Steffen & Aymo Brunetti, 2020. "The Relative Effectiveness of Teachers and Learning Software: Evidence from a Field Experiment in El Salvador," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 36, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experimental Design; Networks; Cash Transfers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • O22 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Project Analysis
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development

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