The cluster robust variance estimator (CRVE) relies on the number of clusters being large. The precise meaning of 'large' is ambiguous, but a shorthand 'rule of 42' has emerged in the literature. We show that this rule depends crucially on the assumption of equal-sized clusters. Monte Carlo...

Inference for estimates of treatment effects with clustered data requires great care when treatment is assigned at the group level. This is true for both pure treatment models and difference-in-differences regressions. Even when the number of clusters is quite large, cluster-robust standard...

When there are few treated clusters in a pure treatment or difference-in-differences setting, t tests based on a cluster-robust variance estimator (CRVE) can severely over-reject. Although procedures based on the wild cluster bootstrap often work well when the number of treated clusters is not...

Inference using difference-in-differences with clustered data requires care. Previous research has shown that, when there are few treated clusters, t-tests based on cluster-robust variance estimators (CRVEs) severely overreject, and different variants of the wild cluster bootstrap can either...

Many empirical projects are well suited to incorporating a linear difference-in-differences research design. While estimation is straightforward, reliable inference can be a challenge. Past research has not only demonstrated that estimated standard errors are biased dramatically downwards in...

In many fields of economics, and also in other disciplines, it is hard to justify the assumption that the random error terms in regression models are uncorrelated. It seems more plausible to assume that they are correlated within clusters, such as geographical areas or time periods, but...