Pedro H. C. Sant'Anna
I am a Winship Distinguished Research Professor and Associate Professor of Economics at Emory University. I develop econometric methods for causal inference with panel data.
My goal is to help empirical researchers draw credible, informative conclusions about the effects of policies and interventions. Difference-in-differences is a central part of this work, bringing econometric theory to bear on questions that arise in applied research.
As an Amazon Scholar, I also work on causal inference in large-scale applied settings. These questions help shape my thinking about how econometric methods can be useful in practice.
Outside of work, I love spending time with my wife, Renata, and our five kids.
Current Research
My current work helps researchers make better use of panel data: choosing and combining comparison groups and time periods, studying treatments that vary in intensity or timing, and assessing sensitivity to causal assumptions. I also study how much information different assumptions provide and how to translate that information into more precise estimates.
Explore research and papersRecent
- Difference-in-Differences with a Continuous Treatment, with Brantly Callaway and Andrew Goodman-Bacon, is forthcoming in the American Economic Review. The companion R package is contdid.
- Efficient Difference-in-Differences and Event-Study Estimators, with Xiaohong Chen and Haitian Xie, studies how pre-treatment periods and comparison groups can improve precision.
- Better Understanding Triple Differences Estimators, with my Ph.D. student Marcelo Ortiz-Villavicencio, examines how to implement triple-differences designs carefully.
- I have been exploring how Claude Code can help with research and teaching. Read about my Claude Code research workflow.