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Cited by 55Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesSpatial and Panel Data AnalysisEconomic and Environmental Valuation

Regression discontinuity designs in agricultural and environmental economics

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Wuepper, David, Finger, Robert·2023·European Review of Agricultural Economics
DOI 10.1093/erae/jbac023
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Abstract

Regression discontinuity designs (RDD) are increasingly being employed in agricultural and environmental economics to identify causal effects. Here, we showcase recent applications, identify best practices, discuss commonly invoked identifying assumptions and show how these can be tested. We discuss basic empirical issues and more advanced topics, including how to exploit the availability of panel data, models to explain heterogeneous treatment effects and extrapolation of local estimates. Moreover, we show how agricultural economists can leverage RDD in combination with remote sensing and environmental modelling. Finally, we highlight three areas of emerging opportunities and draw conclusions for research and policy.

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  • Double-difference estimators are particularly powerful at controlling for previously existing differences in policies if those differences do not change over time.

    “Moreover, doubledifference estimators are particularly powerful to control for previously existing differences in policies if they do not change over time 89,93 .”

    From Health benefits of reduced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon (2024) · cites this paper as [93]

    Section 3.1 (page not available) says the difference-in-discontinuities design addresses pre-existing discontinuities and compound treatments, and its unit fixed effects control for time-invariant characteristics. That supports the idea of accounting for stable pre-existing differences, but the paper makes this point about a design combining regression discontinuity with difference-in-differences, not about double-difference estimators generally or specifically about unchanged differences in policies. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Wuepper, D., & Finger, R.
Affiliations
ETH Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Wuepper, David
ORCID
Venue
European Review of Agricultural Economics
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2022-10-06
Volume
50
Issue
1
Pages
1-28
ISSN
  • 0165-1587 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-3618
DOI
10.1093/erae/jbac023
OpenAlex
W4304694909
Cited by
55
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 2
FWCI
8.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • European Review of Agricultural Economics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ETH Zürich Research Collection
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Spatial and Panel Data Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic and Environmental Valuation
Keywords
regression discontinuity design, causal inference, agricultural economics, environmental economics, treatment effect heterogeneity, panel data, remote sensing, environmental modeling, identifying assumptions

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