Difference-in-Differences under Local Dependence on Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sato, Akihiro, Sugasawa, Shonosuke
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Sato, Akihiro
Sugasawa, Shonosuke
author_facet Sato, Akihiro
Sugasawa, Shonosuke
contents Estimating causal effects under interference, where the stable unit treatment value assumption is violated, is critical in fields such as regional and public economics. Much of the existing research on causal inference under interference relies on a pre-specified "exposure mapping". This paper focuses on difference-in-difference and proposes a nonparametric identification strategy for direct and indirect average treatment effects under local interference on an observed network. In particular, we proposed a new concept of an indirect effect measuring the total outward influence of the intervension. Based on parallel trends assumption conditional on the neighborhood treatment vector, we develop inverse probability weighted and doubly robust estimators. We establish their asymptotic properties, including consistency under misspecification of nuisance models under some regularity conditions. Simulation studies and an empirical application demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_01631
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Difference-in-Differences under Local Dependence on Networks
Sato, Akihiro
Sugasawa, Shonosuke
Methodology
Estimating causal effects under interference, where the stable unit treatment value assumption is violated, is critical in fields such as regional and public economics. Much of the existing research on causal inference under interference relies on a pre-specified "exposure mapping". This paper focuses on difference-in-difference and proposes a nonparametric identification strategy for direct and indirect average treatment effects under local interference on an observed network. In particular, we proposed a new concept of an indirect effect measuring the total outward influence of the intervension. Based on parallel trends assumption conditional on the neighborhood treatment vector, we develop inverse probability weighted and doubly robust estimators. We establish their asymptotic properties, including consistency under misspecification of nuisance models under some regularity conditions. Simulation studies and an empirical application demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
title Difference-in-Differences under Local Dependence on Networks
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01631