Regression Discontinuity Designs Based on Population Thresholds: Pitfalls and Solutions

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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of political science 2018-01, Vol.62 (1), p.210-229
Main Authors: Eggers, Andrew C., Freier, Ronny, Grembi, Veronica, Nannicini, Tommaso
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AJPS WORKSHOP
Councillors
Discontinuity
Elections
Electoral systems
Local government
Mayors
Municipal government
Political institutions
Political science
Population
Population policy
Research design
Thresholds
Wages & salaries
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:0092-5853
1540-5907
DOI:10.1111/ajps.12332