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Policy Targeting under Network Interference

Davide Viviano

arXiv 24 Jun 2019 · Econometrics · publishedThe Review of Economic Studies (2024) · 19 citations (OpenAlex)

arXiv:1906.10258 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

This paper studies the problem of optimally allocating treatments in the presence of spillover effects, using information from a (quasi-)experiment. I introduce a method that maximizes the sample analog of average social welfare when spillovers occur. I construct semi-parametric welfare estimators with known and unknown propensity scores and cast the optimization problem into a mixed-integer linear program, which can be solved using off-the-shelf algorithms. I derive a strong set of guarantees on regret, i.e., the difference between the maximum attainable welfare and the welfare evaluated at the estimated policy. The proposed method presents attractive features for applications: (i) it does not require network information of the target population; (ii) it exploits heterogeneity in treatment effects for targeting individuals; (iii) it does not rely on the correct specification of a particular structural model; and (iv) it accommodates constraints on the policy function. An application for targeting information on social networks illustrates the advantages of the method.

Citation extraction

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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
1Cai, J., A. De Janvry, and E. Sadoulet (2015) Social networks and the decision to insure1.000313100%
2Aronow, P. M. and C. Samii (2017) Estimating average causal effects under general interference, with application to a social network experiment1.00053100%
3Athey, S. and S. Wager (2021) Policy learning with observational data0.92314579%
4Kitagawa, T. and A. Tetenov (2018) Who should be treated? Empirical welfare maximization methods for treatment choice0.81524754%
5Wainwright, M. J (2019) High-dimensional statistics: A non-asymptotic viewpoint, Volume 480.81142100%
6Brooks, R. L (1941) On colouring the nodes of a network0.7374350%
7De Paula, Á., S. Richards-Shubik, and E. Tamer (2018) Identifying preferences in networks with bounded degree0.73732100%
8Kempe, D., J. Kleinberg, and É. Tardos (2003) Maximizing the spread of influence through a social network0.73732100%
9Kitagawa, T. and G. Wang (2020) Who should get vaccinated? individualized allocation of vaccines over sir network0.73732100%
10Leung, M. P (2020) Treatment and spillover effects under network interference0.73732100%

Showing the top 10 of 80 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
1Individualized Policy Evaluation and Learning under Clustered Network Interference1.00063
2Causal Inference Under Approximate Neighborhood Interference0.64422
3Fair Policy Targeting0.64422
4Spillovers of Program Benefits with Missing Network Links0.64422
5Policy design in experiments with unknown interference0.64422
61 The Local Approach to Causal Inference under Network Interference0.64422
7Who Should Get Vaccinated? Individualized Allocation of Vaccines Over SIR Network0.58531
8Robust Network Targeting with Multiple Nash Equilibria0.58531
9Generalizability with ignorance in mind: learning what we do (not) know for archetypes discovery0.51152
10Experimental Design under Network Interference0.51122