Evaluating marginal policy changes and the average effect of treatment for individuals at the margin

Arbeitspapier

This paper develops methods for evaluating marginal policy changes. We characterize how the effects of marginal policy changes depend on the direction of the policy change, and show that marginal policy effects are fundamentally easier to identify and to estimate than conventional treatment parameters. We develop the connection between marginal policy effects and the average effect of treatment for persons on the margin of indifference between participation in treatment and nonparticipation, and use this connection to analyze both parameters. We apply our analysis to estimate the effect of marginal changes in tuition on the return to going to college.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 4324

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Erziehung, Schul- und Bildungswesen ; Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
• Subject: Marginal treatment effect ; effects of marginal policy changes ; marginal policy relevant treatment effect ; average marginal treatment effect ; Politische Reform ; Verhaltensökonomik ; Bildungsverhalten ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Carneiro, Pedro ; Heckman, James Joseph ; Vytlacil, Edward
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/36068
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-20090825639
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET