Regional Perspectives on Policy Evaluation

verfasst von: Marco Percoco

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : SpringerBriefs in Regional Science

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

The evaluation of public policies is of paramount importance for modern policy making, especially in a period of severe budget constraints. The literature has proposed several methods to deal with the issue of causality and counterfactual evaluation in a variety of contexts, with an increasing attention to the local dimension. The book aims to present the state-of-the-art of evaluation techniques with a special focus on the consideration of geographical and spatial effects into existing methodologies (such as propensity score matching, regression discontinuity, difference-in-difference). Furthermore, the volume highlights how strict the identification conditions for models with spatial effects are and proposes instrumental variables as a technique able to circumvent the issue. Finally, some insights into the emerging literature on ex ante evaluation are offered with respect to EU Cohesion Policy.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

This chapter discusses the fundamentals of counterfactual policy evaluation. It presents the notions of “counterfactual”, confounding factors and causal inference through examples and provides a discussion of multivariate regression as the baseline policy evaluation model. Average Treatment Effect and Average Treatment on the Treated parameters are also presented, along with the identification of heterogeneous impact.

Marco Percoco

Chapter 2. Regression Discontinuity Design: When Series Interrupt

Abstract

This chapter introduces the identification and estimation of policy effects when outcome variables can be ordered according to a given variable and when the treatment occurs at a given point. The structural change occurring in the outcome variable is in such a case assumed to be the effect of the policy. The assumptions behind Regression Discontinuity Design are hence discussed alongside with extensions for heterogeneous effect.

Marco Percoco

Chapter 3. Propensity Score Matching: When Units Meet

Abstract

This chapter presents the semi-parametric technique of propensity score matching. The standard approach is briefly discussed with an example and extensions to the case of multi-valued treatment and Oaxaca-Blinder regressions are also presented.

Marco Percoco

Chapter 4. Difference-in-Differences: When Time and Space Matter

Abstract

When units are observed across time and space and treatment occurs at a certain point in time for only some units, difference-in-differences can be used to estimate the impact of a policy. This chapter discusses standard identifying assumption of the policy impact through this parametric technique.

Marco Percoco

Chapter 5. A Synthetic Control Approach to Evaluate Local Policies

Abstract

In certain situation, only one unit is treated against a large sample of control units. In such a case, the synthetic control approach has proven to be useful as it combines control units in order to build a synthetic counterfactual. This chapter presents the general case of synthetic control alongside an extensive example of URBAN II in London.

Marco Percoco

Chapter 6. Methods for Ex Ante Evaluation

Abstract

This chapter theoretically discusses various approaches to ex-ante evaluation of regional development policies. A particular focus on the concept of “transportability” is presented and applied to meta-analysis, quasi-experimental methods and structural models.

Marco Percoco

Titel: Regional Perspectives on Policy Evaluation
verfasst von: Marco Percoco
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-09519-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09518-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09519-6