Estimating the Benefit Incidence of an Antipoverty Program by Propensity-Score Matching
用倾向得分匹配法估计阿根廷工作福利计划参与者的净收入增益分布，发现平均直接增益约为毛工资的一半，且超半数受益者属于全国最贫困的十分之一人群。
We apply recent advances in propensity-score matching (PSM) to the problem of estimating the distribution of net income gains from an Argentinean workfare program. PSM has a number of attractive features in this context, including the need to allow for heterogeneous impacts while optimally weighting observed characteristics when forming a comparison group. The average direct gain to the participant is found to be about half the gross wage. Over half of the beneficiaries are in the poorest decile nationally, and 80% are in the poorest quintile. Our PSM estimator is reasonably robust to a number of changes in methodology.