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Title: When can we ignore measurement error in the running variable?
In many applications of regression discontinuity designs, the running variable used to assign treatment is only observed with error. We show that, provided the observed running variable (i) correctly classifies treatment assignment and (ii) affects the conditional means of potential outcomes smoothly, ignoring the measurement error nonetheless yields an estimate with a causal interpretation: the average treatment effect for units whose observed running variable equals the cutoff. Possibly after doughnut trimming, these assumptions accommodate a variety of settings where support of the measurement error is not too wide. An empirical application illustrates the results for both sharp and fuzzy designs.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2049356
PAR ID:
10491109
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Econometrics
Volume:
38
Issue:
5
ISSN:
0883-7252
Page Range / eLocation ID:
735 to 750
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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