Should We Adjust for the Test for Pre-trends in Difference-in-Difference Designs?
双重差分设计应否调整事前趋势检验?
The common practice in difference-in-difference (DiD) designs is to check for parallel trends prior to treatment assignment, yet typical estimation and inference does not account for the fact that this test has occurred. I analyze the properties of the traditional DiD estimator conditional on having passed (i.e. not rejected) the test for parallel pre-trends. When the DiD design is valid and the test for pre-trends confirms it, the typical DiD estimator is unbiased, but…