Replication data for: In Pursuit of Balance: Randomization in Practice in Development Field Experiments

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Miriam Bruhn; David McKenzie

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AEJApp-2008-0182_data			10/12/2019 12:18:PM
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Project Citation:

Bruhn, Miriam, and McKenzie, David. Replication data for: In Pursuit of Balance: Randomization in Practice in Development Field Experiments. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2009. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113574V1

Project Description

Summary: We present new evidence on the randomization methods used in existing experiments, and new simulations comparing these methods. We find that many papers do not describe the randomization in detail, implying that better reporting is needed. Our simulations suggest that in samples of 300 or more, the different methods perform similarly. However, for very persistent outcome variables, and in smaller samples, pair-wise matching and stratification perform best and appear to dominate the rerandomization methods commonly used in practice. The simulations also point to specific recommendations for which variables to balance on, and for which controls to include in the ex post analysis. (JEL C83, C93, O12)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      C83 Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
      C93 Field Experiments
      O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-12]

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