Bounds on Treatment Effects from Studies with Imperfect Compliance

Abstract

This article establishes nonparametric formulas that can be used to bound the average treatment effect in experimental studies in which treatment assignment is random but subject compliance is imperfect. The bounds provided are the tightest possible, given the distribution of assignments, treatments, and responses. The formulas show that even with high rates of noncompliance, experimental data can yield useful and sometimes accurate information on the average effect of a treatment on the population.