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Gaussian and Bootstrap Approximation for Matching-based Average Treatment Effect Estimators

Zhaoyang Shi, Chinmoy Bhattacharjee, Krishnakumar Balasubramanian, Wolfgang Polonik

arXiv 22 Dec 2024 · Mathematics — Statistics Theory

arXiv:2412.17181 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

We establish Gaussian approximation bounds for covariate and rank-matching-based Average Treatment Effect (ATE) estimators. By analyzing these estimators through the lens of stabilization theory, we employ the Malliavin-Stein method to derive our results. Our bounds precisely quantify the impact of key problem parameters, including the number of matches and treatment balance, on the accuracy of the Gaussian approximation. Additionally, we develop multiplier bootstrap procedures to estimate the limiting distribution in a fully data-driven manner, and we leverage the derived Gaussian approximation results to further obtain bootstrap approximation bounds. Our work not only introduces a novel theoretical framework for commonly used ATE estimators, but also provides data-driven methods for constructing non-asymptotically valid confidence intervals.

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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
1A. Abadie and G. W. Imbens (2006) Large sample properties of matching estimators for average treatment effects1.00073100%
2A. Abadie and G. W. Imbens (2011) Bias-corrected matching estimators for average treatment effects1.00053100%
3P. R. Rosenbaum (2010) Design of observational studies, volume 101.00053100%
4Z. Lin, P. Ding, and F. Han (2023) Estimation based on nearest neighbor matching: From density ratio to average treatment effect0.74127641%
5A. Abadie and G. W. Imbens (2008) On the failure of the bootstrap for matching estimators0.73732100%
6R. Lachièze-Rey, M. Schulte, and J. E. Yukich (2019) Normal approximation for stabilizing functionals0.70520435%
7P. R. Rosenbaum (2005) An exact distribution-free test comparing two multivariate distributions based on adjacency0.64422100%
8Z. Shi, K. Balasubramanian, and W. Polonik (2024) A flexible approach for normal approximation of geometric and topological statistics0.64422100%
9Z. Shi, C. Bhattacharjee, K. Balasubramanian, and W. Polonik (2024) Multivariate Gaussian Approximation for Random Forest via Region-based Stabilization0.64422100%
10M. D. Cattaneo, F. Han, and Z. Lin (2023) On Rosenbaum's rank-based matching estimator0.63827626%

Showing the top 10 of 33 scored citations.