WHYDC Symposium on Policy Evaluation and Causal Inference 2022 November 13-16, 2022 This is a Symposium focused on methods and implementation of causal inference methods, organized by Austin Nichols, and co-sponsored by . The WHY Symposium is devoted to the use of causal inference methods in policy research. The Symposium features talks on methods and applied papers on a variety of topics. Sessions with presentations and discussion are mixed with opportunities for informal mingling both on site and at nearby locations, including distillery and winery tours, lunches, and a 5K run (with optional hiking, or walking along the canal). Sessions will be hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance, in the conference facility at their headquarters, at 1441 L St NW, in DC. The first WHY Symposium, WHYKY in Kentucky was co-sponsored by and the College of Business at the University of Louisville, and co-organized by Jose Manuel Fernandez at the University of Louisville. We have chosen to relocate the Symposium to DC this year to protect the health and safety of all participants. How to attend: This was the sign-up sheet to propose a paper, or to simply attend and not present. The conference fee of $300 can be remitted to Austin Nichols via PayPal or Venmo. Schedule Pre-conference activity, Sunday 13 Nov. 8:45am tour bus pick up at the Madison Hotel, 1177 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005 9:30am Run/hike/walk at Great Falls and along the C&O Canal with bus pickup near the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center in the C&O Canal National Historical Park at 11:45am to go to the next stop. Noon-3pm Glenstone art museum (indoors and out), with lunch 3pm Rocklands Farm Winery 6pm Bus pick-up 6:30pm Bus drop-off at 1441 L St NW, dinner on your own in DC Symposium Day 1: Monday 14 Nov. 9:30am Coffee, donuts, and registration, 1441 L St NW 10am Dylan Matthews (Vox.com): Disseminating rigorous research in the media 11am Audrey Guo (Santa Clara University): New Employer Payroll Taxes and Entrepreneurship Noon Light lunch 12:30 Adam Looney (University of Utah): What Can Difference-in-Difference Estimators Tell Us about Welfare Reform and The EITC in the 1990s? 1:30pm Adam Scavette (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond): The Impact of Online Applications for Welfare Benefits on Enrollment: Evidence from SNAP 2:30pm Jim Savage (Schmidt Futures): Experimental Team-Building 3:30pm Depart on foot from 1441 L St NW for experimental serendipity, return to 1441 L St NW by 5pm for prizes 5-7pm Rooftop happy hour, 1441 L St NW, followed by dinner on your own in DC Symposium Day 2: Tuesday 15 Nov. 9:30am Coffee, donuts, and registration, 1441 L St NW 10am Vivian Wong (University of Virginia): Designing Systematic Replication Studies to Identify Generalizability Boundaries 11am Elizabeth Stuart (JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health): Augmented Synthetic Controls in Practice: Studying the Effects of State Opioid Prescribing Laws Noon Light lunch 12:30pm Stas Kolenikov (NORC): Statistical Inference with Complex Surveys, and Why Economists Struggle With It 1:30 Steve Hamilton (GWU): Pension Reforms as Stimulus 2:30pm Depart via bus from 1441 L St NW for Don Ciccio and One Eight, return 7:30pm 3-7:30pm distillery tours in Ivy City, 3-5pm at Don Ciccio & Figli and 5-7:30pm One Eight Distilling, followed by dinner on your own in DC Symposium Day 3: Wednesday 16 Nov. 9:30am Coffee, donuts, and registration, 1441 L St NW 10am Katrina L. Bledsoe & Sarah Prenovitz (Abt): Equitable Evaluation 11am Laura Peck & Haisheng Yang (Abt): A Framework for Embedding Equity Principles and Practices into Subgroup Impact Analyses Noon Light lunch 12:30pm William Arnone (National Academy of Social Insurance): Social Security Proposals 1:30pm Judy Geyer (Abt): Causal Inference of Treatment Effects for Endogenous Subgroups 2:30pm Coady Wing (Indiana University): Instrumental Variable Tests for Adverse Selection: Applications to the Small Group Health Insurance Market 3:30pm Jeff Smith (UW-Madison): Quantifying Non-Sampling Variation: College Quality and the Garden of Forking Paths 4:30pm walk from 1441 L St NW to 2007 18th St NW, 27 minutes, or take a 10-minute ride share 5-7pm Jack Rose happy hour (APPAM hotel is two blocks to the west)