Do covariates explain why these groups differ? The choice of reference group can reverse conclusions in the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition
Scientists often want to explain why an outcome is different in two groups. For instance, differences in patient mortality rates across two hospitals could be due to differences in the patients themselves (covariates) or differences in medical care (outcomes given covariates). The Oaxaca--Blinder decomposition (OBD) is a standard tool to tease apart these factors. It is well known that the OBD requires choosing one of the groups as a reference, and the numerical answer can vary with the reference. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no systematic investigation into whether the choice of OBD reference can yield different substantive conclusions and how common this issue is. In the...
| Authors | Manuel Quintero, Advik Shreekumar, William T. Stephenson et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | stat.ME |
| Published | 31 March 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 28 May 2026 |
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