Methodology (stat.ME)

Abstract: In this manuscript, we discuss the substantial importance of Bayesian reasoning in Social Science research. Particularly, we focus on foundational elements to fit models under the Bayesian paradigm. We aim to offer a frame of reference for a broad audience, not necessarily with specialized knowledge in Bayesian statistics, yet having interest in incorporating this kind of methods in studying social phenomena. We illustrate Bayesian methods through case studies regarding political surveys, population dynamics, and standardized educational testing. Specifically, we provide technical details on specific topics such as conjugate and non-conjugate modeling, hierarchical modeling, Bayesian computation, goodness of fit, and model testing.

Abstract: Qini curves have emerged as an attractive and popular approach for evaluating the benefit of data-driven targeting rules for treatment allocation. We propose a generalization of the Qini curve to multiple costly treatment arms, that quantifies the value of optimally selecting among both units and treatment arms at different budget levels. We develop an efficient algorithm for computing these curves and propose bootstrap-based confidence intervals that are exact in large samples for any point on the curve. These confidence intervals can be used to conduct hypothesis tests comparing the value of treatment targeting using an optimal combination of arms with using just a subset of arms, or with a non-targeting assignment rule ignoring covariates, at different budget levels. We demonstrate the statistical performance in a simulation experiment and an application to treatment targeting for election turnout.