AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Constructing Confidence Intervals for BIFSG Disparity Estimates
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114,
May 2024
(pp. 638–43)
Abstract
This paper describes a method to construct confidence intervals for estimates of disparities in outcomes between racial/ethnic groups when race and ethnicity are estimated using Bayesian Improved First Name and Surname Geocoding (BIFSG). Standard errors produced by regression packages understate the uncertainty in these estimates because they fail to incorporate noise arising from estimating race and ethnicity. This can produce false confidence when assessing the direction and magnitude of disparities. Conversely, the bootstrapping approach introduced in this paper incorporates uncertainty arising from the use of BIFSG. However, this procedure does not correct for any statistical bias associated with using BIFSG.Citation
Derby, Elena, Connor Dowd, and Jacob Mortenson. 2024. "Constructing Confidence Intervals for BIFSG Disparity Estimates." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 114: 638–43. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241035Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C13 Estimation: General
- C15 Statistical Simulation Methods: General
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination