← Search

The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 100 No. 1 2018

Testing for Rank Invariance or Similarity in Program Evaluation

Yingying Dong1; Shu Shen2

1 University of California, Irvine · 2 University of California, Davis

Abstract

This paper discusses testable implications of rank invariance or rank similarity, assumptions that are common in program evaluation and in the quantile treatment effect (QTE) literature. We nonparametrically identify, estimate, and test the counterfactual distribution of potential ranks, or features of the distribution. The proposed tests allow treatment to be endogenous, with exogenous treatment following as a special case. The tests essentially do not require any additional assumptions other than those to identify and estimate QTEs. We apply the proposed tests to investigate whether the Job Training Partnership Act training causes trainees to systematically change their ranks in the earnings distribution.

DOI
10.1162/rest_a_00686
Volume
100
Issue
1
Pages
78-85
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

Cite