Working Paper: NBER ID: w16593
Authors: Anup Malani; Julian Reif
Abstract: While conducting empirical work, researchers sometimes observe changes in outcomes before adoption of a new treatment program. The conventional diagnosis is that treatment is endogenous. Observing changes in outcomes prior to treatment is also consistent, however, with anticipation effects. This paper provides a framework for comparing the different methods for estimating anticipation effects and proposes a new set of instrumental variables that can address the problem that subjects' expectations are unobservable. The paper uses this framework to analyze the effect of tort reform on physician supply and finds that accounting for anticipation effects doubles the estimated effect of tort reform.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: C50; I18; J20; K13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| anticipation effects (D84) | tort reform (K13) |
| physician supply (I11) | anticipation effects (D84) |
| tort reform (K13) | physician supply (I11) |