Synth: An R Package for Synthetic Control Methods in Comparative Case Studies

Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 42, Issue 13, June 2011

17 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2011

See all articles by Alberto Abadie

Alberto Abadie

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Alexis Diamond

Harvard University

Jens Hainmueller

Stanford University - Department of Political Science; Stanford Graduate School of Business; Stanford Immigration Policy Lab

Date Written: June 2011

Abstract

The R package Synth implements synthetic control methods for comparative case studies designed to estimate the causal effects of policy interventions and other events of interest (Abadie and Gardeazabal 2003; Abadie, Diamond, and Hainmueller 2010). These techniques are particularly well-suited to investigate events occurring at an aggregate level (i.e., countries, cities, regions, etc.) and affecting a relatively small number of units. Benefits and features of the Synth package are illustrated using data from Abadie and Gardeazabal (2003), which examined the economic impact of the terrorist conflict in the Basque Country.

Keywords: synthetic control methods, differences in differences estimation, program evaluation, comparative case studies, causal inference

Suggested Citation

Abadie, Alberto and Diamond, Alexis J. and Hainmueller, Jens, Synth: An R Package for Synthetic Control Methods in Comparative Case Studies (June 2011). Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 42, Issue 13, June 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1958891

Alberto Abadie

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
617-496-4547 (Phone)
617-495-2575 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Alexis J. Diamond

Harvard University ( email )

Jens Hainmueller (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.stanford.edu/~jhain/

Stanford Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

Stanford Immigration Policy Lab

30 Alta Road
Stanford, CA 94305
United States

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