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External Treatment Effects and Program Implementation Bias

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  • Tomas J. Philipson

Abstract

This paper discusses the definition and identification of external treatment effects and experimental designs capable of detecting these effects. External effects occur when the outcome of a given individual is affected by the treatment assignments of other individuals. The paper argues that two-stage randomization schemes, which randomize allocation of treatments across communities and randomizes the treatments themselves within communities, are useful for identifying private and external treatment effects. The importance of external treatment effects are illustrated in the context of several health economics applications: the impact of R&D subsidies, smoking prevention programs for youth, and the evaluation of HIV-prevention programs currently taking place in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomas J. Philipson, 2000. "External Treatment Effects and Program Implementation Bias," NBER Technical Working Papers 0250, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberte:0250
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Tor Jakob Klette & Jarle Møen & Zvi Griliches, 1999. "Do Subsidies to Commercial R&D Reduce Market Failures? Microeconomic Evaluation Studies," NBER Working Papers 6947, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rokhaya Dieye & Habiba Djebbari & Felipe Barrera-Osorio, 2014. "Accounting for Peer Effects in Treatment Response," AMSE Working Papers 1435, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France, revised Jul 2014.
    2. Michael A. Boozer & Stephen E. Cacciola, 2001. "Inside the 'Black Box' of Project STAR: Estimation of Peer Effects Using Experimental Data," Working Papers 832, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    3. Angelucci, Manuela & De Giorgi, Giacomo, 2006. "Indirect Effects of an Aid Program: The Case of Progresa and Consumption," IZA Discussion Papers 1955, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek & Bas van der Klaauw, 2010. "The Effect of Financial Rewards on Students' Achievement: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(6), pages 1243-1265, December.
    5. Courtney J. Ward, 2009. "Influenza Immunization Campaigns: Is an Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure?," Working Papers daleconwp2010-01, Dalhousie University, Department of Economics.
    6. Malani, Anup, 2008. "Patient enrollment in medical trials: Selection bias in a randomized experiment," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 341-351, June.
    7. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2004. "Evaluating the Effect of Tax Deductions on Training," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(2), pages 461-488, April.
    8. Gonzalo Vazquez-Bare, 2017. "Identification and Estimation of Spillover Effects in Randomized Experiments," Papers 1711.02745, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2022.
    9. Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek & Ian Walker, 2000. "The returns to education : a review of evidence, issues and deficiencies in the literature," Open Access publications 10197/670, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    10. Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek & Ian Walker, 2003. "The Returns to Education: Microeconomics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 115-156, April.
    11. Babcock, Philip & Bedard, Kelly & Fischer, Stefanie & Hartman, John, 2020. "Coordination and contagion: Individual connections and peer mechanisms in a randomized field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    12. Manuela Angelucci & Giacomo De Giorgi, 2009. "Indirect Effects of an Aid Program: How Do Cash Transfers Affect Ineligibles' Consumption?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(1), pages 486-508, March.

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