<p>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.</p>
Authors
Richard Blundell
CPP Co-Director
Richard is Co-Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP) and Senior Research Fellow at IFS.
Monica Costa Dias
Deputy Research Director
Monica is a Deputy Research Director and Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol, with an interest in Labour, Family and Public Economics.
Journal article details
- Publisher
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Issue
- June 2009
Suggested citation
Blundell, R and Costa Dias, M. (2009). 'Alternative approaches to evaluation in empirical microeconomics' (2009)
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