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Proxy Controls and Panel Data

Ben Deaner

arXiv 30 Sep 2018 · Econometrics · 10 citations (OpenAlex)

arXiv:1810.00283 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

We provide new results for nonparametric identification, estimation, and inference of causal effects using `proxy controls': observables that are noisy but informative proxies for unobserved confounding factors. Our analysis applies to cross-sectional settings but is particularly well-suited to panel models. Our identification results motivate a simple and `well-posed' nonparametric estimator. We derive convergence rates for the estimator and construct uniform confidence bands with asymptotically correct size. In panel settings, our methods provide a novel approach to the difficult problem of identification with non-separable, general heterogeneity and fixed $T$. In panels, observations from different periods serve as proxies for unobserved heterogeneity and our key identifying assumptions follow from restrictions on the serial dependence structure. We apply our methods to two empirical settings. We estimate consumer demand counterfactuals using panel data and we estimate causal effects of grade retention on cognitive performance.

Citation extraction

52
references
100
in-text mentions
52
distinct cited
2
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19,497
main-text words

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Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Fruehwirth, Jane Cooley, Navarro, Salvador, & Takahashi, Yuya (2016) How the Timing of Grade Retention Affects Outcomes: Identification and Estimation of Time-Varying Treatment Effects1.00093100%
2Miao, Wang, Geng, Zhi, & Tchetgen, Eric J. Tchetgen (2018) Identifying causal effects with proxy variables of an unmeasured confounder0.97112492%
3Belloni, Alexandre, Chernozhukov, Victor, Chetverikov, Denis, & Kato… (2015) Some new asymptotic theory for least squares series: Pointwise and uniform results0.92810380%
4Hu, Yingyao, & Schennach, Susanne M (2008) Instrumental Variable Treatment of Nonclassical Measurement Error Models0.87452100%
5Pearl, Judea (2009) Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference (Second Edition)0.7375340%
6Chen, Xiaohong, & Pouzo, Demian (2015) Sieve Wald and QLR Inferences on Semi/Nonparametric Conditional Moment Models0.64422100%
7Griliches, Zvi (1977) Estimating the Returns to Schooling: Some Econometric Problems0.64422100%
8Shi, Xu, Miao, Wang, Nelson, Jennifer C., & Tchetgen, Eric J. Tchetgen (2020) Multiply robust causal inference with double-negative control adjustment for categorical unmeasured confounding0.64422100%
9Newey, Whitney K., & Powell, James L (2003) Instrumental Variable Estimation of Nonparametric Models0.58531100%
10Pollard, David (2001) A User's Guide to Measure Theoretic Probability0.5112250%

Showing the top 10 of 52 scored citations.

Cited by, within the corpus

arXiv econ.EM papers that cite this one, ranked by how heavily they lean on it.

Citing paperIntensityMentionsSections
1Controlling for Latent Confounding with Triple Proxies1.00054
2Kernel Methods for Unobserved Confounding: Negative Controls, Proxies, and Instruments0.817115
3Controlling for Unmeasured Confounding in Panel Data Using Minimal Bridge Functions: From Two-Way Fixed Effects to Factor Models0.81142
4Many Proxy Controls0.69361
5Inference on Strongly Identified Functionals of Weakly Identified Functions0.64422
6Minimax Instrumental Variable Regression and $L_2$ Convergence Guarantees without Identification or Closedness0.64422
7Distributional Treatment Effect with Latent Rank Invariance0.51121
8Long-term Causal Inference Under Persistent Confounding via Data Combination0.40511
9Instrumented Common Confounding0.40511
10Causal Models for Longitudinal and Panel Data: A Survey0.40511