Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316150 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2025:4
Publisher: 
Lund University, School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Lund
Abstract: 
This paper introduces Parameter Estimation by Raw Moments (PERM), a flexible method for evaluating a policy's impact on the parameters of an outcome distribution. Such parameters include the variance (E[Y 2 ]-E[Y] 2 ), skewness and covariance of two outcomes. PERM simplifies distributional analysis by first separately estimating higher-order moment treatment effects (e.g., E[Y 2 ]), then combining these to derive distribution parameter treatment effects. Two implementations are discussed: regression with controls and DiD with staggered roll-out. Applying PERM DiD to a Swedish school reform finds it reduced education inequality but increased earnings variance resulting in a lower covariance between education and earnings.
Subjects: 
Causal Inference
Policy Evaluation
Distribution Impacts
Income Inequality
Education Inequality
JEL: 
I24
I26
C10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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