In this paper, we investigate what can be learned about average counterfactual outcomes when it is assumed that treatment response functions are smooth. The smoothness conditions in this paper amount to assuming that the differences in average counterfactual outcomes are bounded under different...

We analyze identification of nonseparable models under three kinds of exogeneity assumptions weaker than full statistical independence. The first is based on quantile independence. Selection on unobservables drives deviations from full independence. We show that such deviations based on quantile...

We derive general, yet simple, sharp bounds on the size of the omitted variable bias for a broad class of causal parameters that can be identified as linear functionals of the conditional expectation function of the outcome. Such functionals encompass many of the traditional targets of...

Economists are often interested in estimating averages with respect to distributions of unobservables, such as moments of individual fixed-effects, or average partial effects in discrete choice models. For such quantities, we propose and study posterior average effects (PAE), where the average...

Economists are often interested in estimating averages with respect to distributions of unobservables. Examples are moments of individual fixed-effects, average effects in discrete choice models, or counterfactual simulations in structural models. For such quantities, we propose and study...

Uncertainty about the choice of identifying assumptions is common in causal studies, but is often ignored in empirical practice. This paper considers uncertainty over models that impose different identifying assumptions, which, in general, leads to a mix of point- and set-identified models. We...

We propose a framework for estimation and inference when the model may be misspecified. We rely on a local asymptotic approach where the degree of misspecification is indexed by the sample size. We construct estimators whose mean squared error is minimax in a neighborhood of the reference model,...

Economists are often interested in estimating averages with respect to distributions of unobservables. Examples are moments of individual fixed-effects, average partial effects in discrete choice models, and counterfactual simulations in structural models. For such quantities, we propose and...

Uncertainty about the choice of identifying assumptions is common in causal studies, but is often ignored in empirical practice. This paper considers uncertainty over models that impose different identifying assumptions, which, in general, leads to a mix of point- and set-identified models. We...

A breakdown frontier is the boundary between the set of assumptions which lead to a specific conclusion and those which do not. In a potential outcomes model with a binary treatment, we consider two conclusions: First, that ATE is at least a specific value (e.g., nonnegative) and second that the...