English

Difference in Differences and Ratio in Ratios for Limited Dependent Variables

Econometrics 2023-08-15 v2

Abstract

Difference in differences (DD) is widely used to find policy/treatment effects with observational data, but applying DD to limited dependent variables (LDV's) Y has been problematic. This paper addresses how to apply DD and related approaches (such as "ratio in ratios" or "ratio in odds ratios") to binary, count, fractional, multinomial or zero-censored Y under the unifying framework of `generalized linear models with link functions'. We evaluate DD and the related approaches with simulation and empirical studies, and recommend 'Poisson Quasi-MLE' for non-negative (such as count or zero-censored) Y and (multinomial) logit MLE for binary, fractional or multinomial Y.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2111.12948,
  title  = {Difference in Differences and Ratio in Ratios for Limited Dependent Variables},
  author = {Myoung-jae Lee and Sanghyeok Lee},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2111.12948},
  year   = {2023}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T07:51:46.537Z