Estimating Marginal Treatment Effects using Parametric and Semiparametric Methods

Abstract

We describe the new command margte, which computes marginal and average treatment effects for a model with a binary treatment and a continuous outcome given selection on unobservables and returns. Marginal treatment effects differ from average treatment effects in instances where the impact of treatment varies within a population in correlation with unobserved characteristics. Both parametric and semiparametric estimation methods can be used with margte, and we provide evidence from a Monte Carlo simulation for when each is preferable.