Week 3

Purpose

The purpose of this video lecture is to discuss the regression discontinuity method, when this method can be used, and limitations of the method.

Meet the Guest Speaker

Bisakha Sen

Bisakha Sen, Ph.D.

Professor, Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Chair

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Sen is a tenured Professor in the Department of Health Care Organization and Policy of the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She has a secondary appointment in the Department of Health Services Administration of the School of Health Professions. Dr. Sen has affiliations with the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, and O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. She received her PhD in Economics from The Ohio State University in 1998. Dr. Sen is the first holder of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Chair in Health Economics and the first woman to hold an endowed chair faculty position in the school.

Dr. Sen specializes in health economics and health policy, and her primary interest is investigating the role of policy, programmatic interventions, and social determinants on the health of vulnerable populations. Dr. Sen and her colleagues have developed an extensive research agenda focusing on health outcomes among Alabama residents, with funding support from Alabama Medicaid and the ALL Kids Children’s Health Insurance Program administered by the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Video Lecture

The video lecture is broken into five topics: Introduction, hypothetical example, regression discontinuity equation, challenges, and effectiveness of the method.

Please click each tab to watch each part of the video lecture.

Introduction
Hypothetical Example
Regression Discontinuity Equation
Challenges
Effectiveness of the Method

Introduction

Hypothetical Example

Regression Discontinuity Equation

Challenges

Effectiveness of the Method

Accessibility Note: To access auto closed captions (CC) services please click on the icon in the video's bottom right corner. Manual CC are available by submitting a request for services to ATAC: (812) 856-4112 or atac@iu.edu

NOTE: Please click on the link below to download the video lecture slides:

An Introduction to Regression Discontinuity as a Tool for Causal Inference

Reading

Below is an article you may be interested in reading regarding this topic:

Schanzenbach, D. W. (2009). Do school lunches contribute to childhood obesity?. Journal of Human Resources, 44(3), 684-709.