Diagnosing Sample-Selection Bias in Historical Heights: A Reply to Komlos and A'Hearn
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Clemson University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Yale University; University System of Georgia; Georgia State University; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Atlanta
刊物名称：
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
ISSN/ISSBN：
0022-0507
DOI：
10.1017/S002205071900055X
发表日期：
2019
页码：
1154-1175
关键词：
摘要：
Our 2017 article in this Journal stresses the pitfalls of using choice-based samples in economic history. A prominent example is the literature addressing the so-called antebellum puzzle. Heights researchers claim that Americans grew shorter in the first half of the nineteenth century, a period of robust economic growth. We argue that this result relies on choice-based samples. Without knowing the process that led to inclusion in the sample, researchers cannot properly estimate conditional mean heights. We proposed a diagnostic that can detect, but not correct for, selection bias. Komlos and A'Hearn's interpretation of our analysis confuses diagnosis with cure. We dispute their view that selection bias has been appreciated in the heights literature.