Abstract
This entry defines the problems of selection bias and presents the conditions required to solve them. It gives examples of common sampling frames, presents economic selection mechanisms, and discusses the assumptions required to use selected samples to determine features of the population distribution.
The analytical framework developed to understand selection bias problems is also fruitful in understanding the economics of self-selection. The prototypical model of choice theoretic self-selection is the Roy model, in which agents choose among a variety of discrete ‘occupational’ opportunities. The Roy model is presented and its fruitful extension to a variety of settings is demonstrated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Amemiya, T. 1984. Tobit models: A survey. Journal of Econometrics 24: 3–61.
Bjorklund, A., and R. Moffitt. 1986. Estimation of wage gains and welfare gains from self selection models. Review of Economics and Statistics 24: 1–63.
Cain, G., and H. Watts. 1973. Toward a summary and synthesis of the evidence. In Income maintenance and labor supply, ed. G. Cain and H. Watts. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Clark, K., and L. Summers. 1979. Labor market dynamics and unemployment: a reconsideration. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1: 13–60.
Cosslett, S. 1981. Maximum likelihood estimation from choice based samples. Econometrica 49: 1289–1316.
Cosslett, S. 1984. Distribution free estimator of regression model with sample selectivity. Unpublished manuscript, University of Florida.
Domencich, T., and D. McFadden. 1975. Urban travel demand. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Flinn, C., and J. Heckman. 1982. New methods for analyzing structural models of labor force dynamics. Journal of Econometrics 18: 5–168.
Gallant, R. and Nychka, R. 1984. Consistent estimation of the censored regression model. Unpublished manuscript, North Carolina State.
Gill, R. and Wellner, J. 1985. Large sample theory of empirical distributions in biased sampling models. Unpublished manuscript, University of Washington.
Goldberger, A. 1983. Abnormal selection bias. In Studies in econometrics, time series and multivariate statistics, ed. S. Karlin, T. Amemiya, and L. Goodman. Wiley.
Gronau, R. 1974. Wage comparisons – A selectivity bias. Journal of Political Economy 82 (6): 1119–1144.
Hall, R. 1982. The importance of lifetime jobs in the US economy. American Economic Review 72: 716–724.
Heckman, J. 1974. Shadow prices, market wages and labor supply. Econometrica 42 (4): 679–694.
Heckman, J. 1976. The common structure of statistical models of truncation, sample selection and limited dependent variables and a simple estimator for such models. Annals of Economic and Social Measurement 5 (4): 475–492.
Heckman, J. 1979. Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica 47 (1): 153–162.
Heckman, J., and B. Honoré. 1986. The empirical content of the Roy model. Unpublished manuscript, University of Chicago.
Heckman, J., and T. MaCurdy. 1981. New methods for estimating labor supply functions. In Research in labor economics, ed. R. Ehrenberg, vol. 4. Greenwich: JAI Press.
Heckman, J., and T. MaCurdy. 1986. Labor econometrics. In Handbook of econometrics, ed. Z. Griliches and M. Intriligator, vol. 3. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Heckman, J., and R. Robb. 1985. Alternative methods for evaluating the effect of training on earnings. In Longitudinal analysis of labor market data, ed. J. Heckman and B. Singer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heckman, J., and G. Sedlacek. 1985. Heterogeneity, aggregation and market wage functions. Journal of Political Economy 93: 1077–1125.
Heckman, J., and B. Singer. 1985. Econometric analysis of longitudinal data. In Handbook of econometrics, ed. Z. Griliches and M. Intriligator, vol. III. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Lee, L.F. 1978. Unionism and wage rates: A simultaneous equations model with qualitative and limited dependent variables. International Economic Review 19: 415–433.
Manski, C., and S. Lerman. 1977. The estimation of choice probabilities from choice based samples. Econometrica 45: 1977–1988.
Manski, C., and D. McFadden. 1981. Alternative estimates and sample designs for discrete choice analysis. In Structural analysis of discrete data with econometric applications, ed. C. Manski and D. McFadden. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Pearson, K. 1901. Mathematical contributions to the theory of evolution. Philosophical Transactions 195: 1–47.
Rao, C.R. 1965. On discrete distributions arising out of methods of ascertainment. In Classical and contagious distributions, ed. G. Patil. Calcutta: Pergamon Press.
Roy, A.D. 1951. Some thoughts on the distribution of earnings. Oxford Economic Papers 3: 135–146.
Vardi, Y. 1983. Nonparametric estimation in the presence of length bias. Annals of Statistics 10: 616–620.
Vardi, Y. 1985. Empirical distributions in selection bias models. Annals of Statistics 13: 178–203.
Willis, R., and S. Rosen. 1979. Education and self selection. Journal of Political Economy 87: S7–S36.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Heckman, J.J. (2018). Selection Bias and Self-Selection. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1762
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1762
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences