Semiparametric Bayesian Difference-in-Differences

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Breunig, Christoph, Liu, Ruixuan, Yu, Zhengfei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Breunig, Christoph
Liu, Ruixuan
Yu, Zhengfei
author_facet Breunig, Christoph
Liu, Ruixuan
Yu, Zhengfei
contents This paper studies semiparametric Bayesian inference for the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) within the difference-in-differences (DiD) research design. We propose two new Bayesian methods with frequentist validity. The first one places a standard Gaussian process prior on the conditional mean function of the control group. The second method is a double robust Bayesian procedure that adjusts the prior distribution of the conditional mean function and subsequently corrects the posterior distribution of the resulting ATT. We prove new semiparametric Bernstein-von Mises (BvM) theorems for both proposals. Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate that the proposed Bayesian DiD methods exhibit strong finite-sample performance compared to existing frequentist methods. We also present extensions of the canonical DiD approach, incorporating both the staggered design and the repeated cross-sectional design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_04605
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Semiparametric Bayesian Difference-in-Differences
Breunig, Christoph
Liu, Ruixuan
Yu, Zhengfei
Econometrics
Machine Learning
This paper studies semiparametric Bayesian inference for the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) within the difference-in-differences (DiD) research design. We propose two new Bayesian methods with frequentist validity. The first one places a standard Gaussian process prior on the conditional mean function of the control group. The second method is a double robust Bayesian procedure that adjusts the prior distribution of the conditional mean function and subsequently corrects the posterior distribution of the resulting ATT. We prove new semiparametric Bernstein-von Mises (BvM) theorems for both proposals. Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application demonstrate that the proposed Bayesian DiD methods exhibit strong finite-sample performance compared to existing frequentist methods. We also present extensions of the canonical DiD approach, incorporating both the staggered design and the repeated cross-sectional design.
title Semiparametric Bayesian Difference-in-Differences
topic Econometrics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.04605