Synth
Software Package
Synth (by
Alberto Abadie, Alexis Diamond, and Jens
Hainmueller) is a statistical software that implements synthetic
control methods for causal inference in comparative case studies with
aggregate data as developed in
Abadie and Gardeazabal (2003) and Abadie, Diamond, and Hainmueller
(2009a). An extensive explanation of the Synth package for R
is presented in Abadie, Diamond, and Hainmueller (2009b).
The synthetic control method allows for causal inference in
observational settings with a single unit (a state, country, firm,
etc.) exposed to an event or intervention. Synth
provides a data-driven procedure to construct adequate controls based
on a weighted combination of potential comparison regions that
approximates the most relevant characteristics of the entities exposed
to the intervention. It produces informative inference regardless of
the number of available comparison units, the number of available time
periods, and whether the data are individual (micro) or aggregate
(macro).
Synth
is available for three
programs MATLAB, Stata, and R as alpha versions. Feedback from users is
highly appreciated. If you download the software, please send us an email so that we can keep you
informed about updates. If you
encounter a problem with the software please first check the FAQ and if you cannot find
your answer there please send us an email
with your question.
|
Synth
for Stata
Before installing
Synth, please
make sure that your Stata is up to date (ie. type update all
on the Stata command prompt).
The easiest way to obtain and
install Synth for Stata is to type:
net
from "http://www.mit.edu/~jhainm/Synth"
net describe synth
net install synth, all replace force
Alternativley,
you can download the codefiles and documentation as a zip archive here:
stata_synth.zip
(unzip and follow directions in readme.txt
file).
Notice: The default installation works for Windows XP and Windows
Vista only. If you want to run Synth for Stata on a Mac, you need to
replace the platform dependent plugin file called "synthopt.plugin" with its Mac
version which you can download here: synthopt.plugin (Mac version) for
x86-32bit Stata.
Simply search for "synthopt.plugin" on your harddrive and
replace it with the Mac version. A universal Mac
plugin that works for OS X on x86-32, x86-64, PPC-32 and PPc-64 is
available here: synthopt.plugin (Mac universal). Thanks
to Daniel Bjorkegren for compiling the plugins for Mac. If you
want to use Synth for Stata on a Unix system please email us.
A change log
is provided which tracks changes across versions. |
Synth
for MATLAB
- Current
Version
(zip archive with scripts and example data) |
Synth
Package for R
- You can also obtain the Synth package for
R from CRAN by typing:
install.packages("Synth")
- Source: Synth_0.1-6.tar.gz
- Windows Binary:
Synth_0.1-6.zip
A change log
is provided which tracks changes across versions. |
|
