Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/126646 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9553
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
In many countries, important features of municipal government (such as the electoral system, mayors' salaries, and the number of councillors) depend on whether the municipality is above or below arbitrary population thresholds. Several papers have used a regression discontinuity design (RDD) to measure the effects of these threshold-based policies on political and economic outcomes. Using evidence from France, Germany, and Italy, we highlight two common pitfalls that arise in exploiting population-based policies (compound treatment and sorting) and we provide guidance for detecting and addressing these pitfalls. Even when these problems are present, population-threshold RDD may be the best available research design for studying the effects of certain policies and political institutions.
Subjects: 
regression discontinuity design
difference-in-discontinuities
population thresholds
JEL: 
C21
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
760.17 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.