Structural Workshop Paper: Data Selection and Procurement

摘要

In this note I overview the data selection and procurement process in the context of structural models. Data selection for structural models presents unique challenges because data and structure often substitute and because it is imperative to consider what information identifies causal effects of interest. I further discuss three types of field data on which to build empirical models: (i) data that are proprietary to firms, (ii) data that can come from the public domain, or (iii) data that can be purchased from private research firms, and I discuss the benefits and limits of each. I then detail a process for obtaining proprietary data and the potential pitfalls inherent in the process.