Selection Bias in Voluntary Random Testing: Evidence from a COVID-19 Antibody Study
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 562-66)
Abstract
We use data from a serological study that experimentally varied financial incentives for participation to detect and characterize selection bias. Participants are from neighborhoods with substantially lower COVID-19 risks. Existing methods to account for the resulting selection bias produce wide bounds or estimates that are inconsistent with the population. One explanation for these inconsistent estimates is that the underlying methods presume a single dimension of unobserved heterogeneity. The data suggest that there are two types of nonparticipants with opposing selection patterns. Allowing for these different types may lead to better accounting for selection bias.Citation
Dutz, Deniz, Michael Greenstone, Ali Hortaçsu, Santiago Lacouture, Magne Mogstad, Danae Roumis, Azeem M. Shaikh, Alexander Torgovitsky, and Winnie van Dijk. 2023. "Selection Bias in Voluntary Random Testing: Evidence from a COVID-19 Antibody Study." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 562-66. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231091Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health