Design-Based Research in Empirical Microeconomics

I briefly review the emergence of " design-based" research methods in labor economics in the 1980s and early 1990s. These methods were seen as a partial solution to the problems of credible inference identi-fied by Ashenfelter (1974), Leamer (1978), Hendry (1980), and oth-ers. Designed-based studies typically use a simplified one-equation model of the outcome of interest-in contrast to model-based studies that specify a data generating process for all factors determining the outcome. I discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of the design-based approach and the value of such research in the field. (JEL C20, J01,J24, J31, J38, J51, J53)