The inclusive Synthetic Control Method

Abstract

We introduce the inclusive synthetic control method (iSCM), a modification of synthetic control methods that includes units in the donor pool potentially affected, directly or indirectly, by an intervention. This method is ideal for situations where including treated units in the donor pool is essential or where donor units may experience spillover effects. The iSCM is straightforward to implement with most synthetic control estimators. As an empirical illustration, we re-estimate the causal effect of German reunification on GDP per capita, accounting for spillover effects from West Germany to Austria.