Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics
回顾了社会实验、自然实验、匹配、工具变量、断点回归和控制函数等政策评估方法，讨论其识别假设、数据要求，并用教育与收入模拟模型演示，适合需要选择评估方法的实证研究者。
This paper reviews some of the most popular policy evaluation methods in empirical microeconomics: social experiments, natural experiments, matching, instrumental variables, discontinuity design, and control functions. It discusses identification of traditionally used average parameters and more complex distributional parameters. The adequacy, assumptions, and data requirements of each approach are discussed, drawing on empirical evidence from the education and employment policy evaluation literature. A workhorse simulation model of education and earnings is used throughout the paper to discuss and illustrate each approach. The full set of STATA data sets and dofiles are available free online and can be used to reproduce all estimation results.