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On the Identification of Misspecified Propensity Scores - School of ...

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5 Conclusion<br />

[TABLE 8 ABOUT HERE]<br />

[TABLE 9 ABOUT HERE]<br />

In this paper, we have shown that <strong>the</strong> commonly computed estimates <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> densities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

propensity score conditional on participation provide a means <strong>of</strong> examining whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> para-<br />

metric model is correctly specified. In particular, correct specification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> propensity score<br />

implies a certain restriction between <strong>the</strong> estimated densities. We have shown fur<strong>the</strong>r that this<br />

restriction is equivalent to an orthogonality restriction, which can be used as <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> a<br />

formal test for correct specification. While our test does not have power against all forms <strong>of</strong><br />

misspecification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> propensity score, we argue that for a large class <strong>of</strong> alternatives our test<br />

will perform better in finite samples than existing tests that have power against all forms <strong>of</strong><br />

misspecification. Our Monte Carlo study <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> finite sample behavior <strong>of</strong> our test corroborates<br />

this hypo<strong>the</strong>sis. The study shows fur<strong>the</strong>r that our test performs well against many types <strong>of</strong><br />

misspecification. Since our test is also easily implemented, it is our hope that this work will<br />

persuade researchers to examine <strong>the</strong> specification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir model for <strong>the</strong> propensity score, as<br />

its validity is essential for consistency <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir estimates <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> treatment effect.<br />

A Pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> Theorem 4.1:<br />

We start by proving <strong>the</strong> first claim, namely, that<br />

n hn ˆVn d → N(0, Σ). (10)<br />

We start proving this result by first showing that<br />

<br />

ˆVn − Vn0 = oP (1), (11)<br />

where<br />

ˆVn :=<br />

with ˆεi = Di − Q(Xi, ˆ θ), and<br />

Vn0 :=<br />

1<br />

n(n − 1)<br />

1<br />

n(n − 1)<br />

nh 1/2<br />

n<br />

n<br />

<br />

1 Q(Xi,<br />

K<br />

ˆ θ) − Q(Xj, ˆ <br />

θ)<br />

ˆεiˆεj,<br />

h<br />

hn<br />

i=1 j=i<br />

n <br />

<br />

1 Q(Xi, θ0) − Q(Xj, θ0)<br />

K<br />

hn<br />

i=1 j=i<br />

13<br />

hn<br />

εi0εj0,

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