Better LATE Than Nothing: Some Comments on Deaton (2009) and Heckman and Urzua (2009) / Guido W. Imbens.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Imbens, Guido W.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w14896.

NBER working paper series no. w14896

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Better LATE Than Nothing Some Comments on Deaton

Better LATE Than Nothing

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2009.

Summary:

Two recent papers, Deaton (2009), and Heckman and Urzua (2009), argue against what they see as an excessive and inappropriate use of experimental and quasi-experimental methods in empirical work in economics in the last decade. They specifically question the increased use of instrumental variables and natural experiments in labor economics, and of randomized experiments in development economics. In these comments I will make the case that this move towards shoring up the internal validity of estimates, and towards clarifying the description of the population these estimates are relevant for, has been important and beneficial in increasing the credibility of empirical work in economics. I also address some other concerns raised by the Deaton and Heckman-Urzua papers.

Notes:

Print version record

April 2009.