Omitted Variable Bias in Interacted Models: A Cautionary Tale
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Feigenberg, Benjamin; Ost, Ben; Qureshi, Javaeria A.
署名单位：
University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Chicago; University of Illinois Chicago Hospital
刊物名称：
REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
ISSN/ISSBN：
0034-6535
DOI：
10.1162/rest_a_01361
发表日期：
2025-09
页码：
1260-1274
关键词：
摘要：
We highlight that analyses using interaction terms to study treatment effect heterogeneity are susceptible to a form of omitted variable bias that is often overlooked in economics. Unlike most instances of omitted variable bias, the omitted variables in this case are available to the researcher but were not included in the model. We demonstrate that this exclusion matters based on a replication of 205 estimates across seventeen papers published in the American Economic Review over a five-year period. For approximately 60% of these papers, failing to account for the omitted variables changes the majority of estimates by more than 100%.
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