Manipulation of the Running Variable in the Regression Discontinuity Design: A Density Test
Year: 2007
Type: report
Abstract: Standard sufficient conditions for identification in the regression discontinuity design are continuity of the conditional expectation of counterfactual outcomes in the running variable.These continuity assumptions may not be plausible if agents are able to manipulate the running variable.This paper develops a test of manipulation related to continuity of the running variable density function.The methodology is applied to popular elections to the House of Representatives, where sorting is neither expected nor found, and to roll-call voting in the House, where sorting is both expected and found.
DOI: 10.3386/t0334
Author: Justin McCrary
Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics and Probability
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2151352067