RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Testing Attrition Bias in Field Experiments
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0920-11190R2
DO 10.3368/jhr.0920-11190R2
A1 Ghanem, Dalia
A1 Hirshleifer, Sarojini
A1 Ortiz-Becerra, Karen
YR 2023
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2024/07/03/jhr.0920-11190R2.abstract
AB We approach attrition in field experiments with baseline data as an identification problem in a panel model. A systematic review of the literature indicates that there is no consensus on how to test for attrition bias. We establish identifying assumptions for treatment effects for both the respondents and the study population, and propose procedures to test their sharp implications. We then relate our proposed tests to current empirical practice, and demonstrate that the most commonly used test in the literature is not a test of internal validity in general. We illustrate the relevance of our analysis using several empirical applications.