基于估计倾向得分的匹配

Matching on the Estimated Propensity Score

Econometrica · 2016
被引 26
人大 A+FT50ABS 4*

中文导读

推导了倾向得分匹配估计量的大样本分布,证明第一步估计倾向得分会影响分布,并给出平均处理效应和受处理者平均处理效应估计量的方差调整公式。

Abstract

Propensity score matching estimators (Rosenbaum and Rubin (1983)) are widely used in evaluation research to estimate average treatment effects. In this article, we derive the large sample distribution of propensity score matching estimators. Our derivations take into account that the propensity score is itself estimated in a first step, prior to matching. We prove that first step estimation of the propensity score affects the large sample distribution of propensity score matching estimators, and derive adjustments to the large sample variances of propensity score matching estimators of the average treatment effect (ATE) and the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET). The adjustment for the ATE estimator is negative (or zero in some special cases), implying that matching on the estimated propensity score is more efficient than matching on the true propensity score in large samples. However, for the ATET estimator, the sign of the adjustment term depends on the data generating process, and ignoring the estimation error in the propensity score may lead to confidence intervals that are either too large or too small.

倾向得分匹配估计量大样本分布平均处理效应方差调整