Formalization: Forbidden Comparisons in Fixed-Effect Poisson Difference-in-Differences
The complete Lean development behind this paper — every definition, lemma, and theorem of its module, including helpers the paper text never cites. Identifiers link within this page, into the Causalean library, or out to the official Mathlib docs.
Basic 62 declarations This file defines the deterministic triangular-array and collapsed cohort-time objects used by the paper.
PPML forbidden comparisons: finite collapsed worlds
This file defines the deterministic triangular-array and collapsed cohort-time
objects used by the paper. Calendar time is zero-indexed in Lean, so Lean
period 0 represents paper period 1. Adoption dates use the shared
WithTop (Fin T) convention, with ⊤ denoting never treated.
A cohort is an adoption date within the panel, with an additional never-treated cohort.
A cell is a cohort-period pair in the panel.
Cohort-time cells restricted to the finite support C.
Definition (Lean source)
Strictly positive real numbers, used for primitive masses.
Definition (Lean source)
Limiting shares, whose carrier records the open-unit-interval restriction.
The index set of cohort dummies: the supported adoption cohorts other than the never-treated one. The never-treated cohort is the omitted category, absorbed by the intercept, so one cohort effect is carried by each remaining supported cohort.
Definition (Lean source)
The index set of time dummies: every calendar period other than the base period. Lean period zero is the paper's first period and is the omitted category, so one time effect is carried by each remaining period.
Intercept, non-never-treated cohort effects, and non-base-period time effects.
Definition (Lean source)
The treatment coordinate is stored last, as the second factor.
Definition (Lean source)
The index set of unit dummies: every unit other than the first, which is the omitted category absorbed by the intercept.
Calendar indices use all Lean indices 0,...,T-1, representing paper periods 1,...,T.
Definition (Lean source)
Unit indices use all Lean indices 0,...,N-1, representing paper units 1,...,N.
Intercept, non-base unit effects, and non-base-period time effects: the coordinates of the nuisance block of a unit-and-time fixed-effect specification.
Definition (Lean source)
A full unit-and-time fixed-effect coefficient vector: the nuisance coordinates together with the single treatment coefficient, which is stored last as the second factor.
Definition (Lean source)
The paper only considers horizons in {4,5,...}.
Definition (Lean source)
Supported finite cohorts are paper dates 2,...,T, and never-treated is supported.
Whether adoption cohort g is treated in calendar period t.
Definition (Lean source)
The finite-array cohort count induced by deterministic cohort labels.
Definition (Lean source)
The cohort index set induced by deterministic labels.
The limiting cohort-time mass pi_g / T.
Definition (Lean source)
The finite-array cohort-time mass n_gN / (N*T).
Definition (Lean source)
The within-cohort average of the positive unit baseline masses.
Definition (Lean source)
On its declared positive-count domain, the within-cohort baseline is strictly positive.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The finite-array untreated cohort mean.
Definition (Lean source)
A supported positive-count cohort has a strictly positive finite untreated mean.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The limiting untreated cohort mean.
The finite-array observed cohort mean.
Definition (Lean source)
A supported positive-count cohort has a strictly positive finite observed mean.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The limiting observed cohort mean.
Definition (Lean source)
The fixed-effect nuisance part of the collapsed regressor.
Definition (Lean source)
The collapsed regressor, with treatment as its final coordinate.
Definition (Lean source)
Dot product for collapsed parameters.
Definition (Lean source)
The limiting collapsed Poisson pseudo-criterion.
Definition (Lean source)
The finite-array collapsed Poisson pseudo-criterion.
Definition (Lean source)
The selected maximizer theta_star(delta) of the limiting collapsed criterion.
Definition (Lean source)
The treatment coordinate of the limiting pseudo-true parameter.
The fitted limiting cohort-time mean.
Definition (Lean source)
An abstract sampling law on an outcome sample space, represented by the expectation functional it induces on real-valued functions of that space. Nothing beyond expectations of the outcome array is ever used, so the law is carried by this functional rather than by a probability measure.
Definition (Lean source)
The expectation operator carried by the abstract sampling law.
Definition (Lean source)
The unit treatment indicator induced by its cohort label.
Definition (Lean source)
Unit-and-time fixed-effect nuisance regressor.
Definition (Lean source)
The unit-and-time regressor with treatment last.
Definition (Lean source)
Dot product for finite-array unit parameters.
Definition (Lean source)
The deterministic unit-time mean implied by the exponential model.
The unit-and-time-FE population Poisson criterion.
Definition (Lean source)
The last coordinate of the selected unit-FE population maximizer.
Definition (Lean source)
Option ℝ realizes finite unit effects together with none = -∞.
A candidate for the unit fixed-effect Poisson fit in which unit effects may take the value minus infinity: one extended unit effect per unit (the absent value standing for minus infinity), together with finite time effects and a finite treatment coefficient. Admitting minus infinity is what makes the maximum attained for units whose entire outcome path is zero.
Definition (Lean source)
Extended unit-FE sample objective with finite time and treatment coordinates.
Definition (Lean source)
A -∞ unit effect is admissible only for a unit whose whole outcome path is zero.
Definition (Lean source)
Normalized maximizers of the extended sample objective.
Definition (Lean source)
Squared norm of the finite time-effect and treatment coordinates.
Definition (Lean source)
The total extended-MLE coefficient, with the stipulated minimum-norm selection and zero fallback.
Definition (Lean source)
Untreated potential-outcome means factor into a positive unit baseline and a common calendar-time exponential component; the treatment-zero outcome equals that untreated outcome.
Definition (Lean source)
Within each supported cohort, the average unit baseline converges to a strictly positive cohort-specific limiting baseline.
In every treated unit-period, the mean treated outcome equals the mean untreated outcome multiplied by that cell's exponential treatment effect.
Definition (Lean source)
The collapsed fixed-effects and treatment design has full rank under the limiting cell masses.
Definition (Lean source)
The support contains adoption cohorts 1, 2, and 3, as well as the never-treated cohort.
Every treated cohort-period has a strictly positive log treatment effect.
Definition (Lean source)
Collapse 2 declarations Exact unit-FE collapse and convergence to the limiting collapsed projection.
Exact unit-FE collapse and convergence to the limiting collapsed projection.
The selected maximizer of the finite collapsed criterion.
Definition (Lean source)
The unit-FE and collapsed criteria have the same beta, and these betas converge.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
ForbiddenSign 3 declarations Sharp effect-derivative and forbidden-cell sign characterization.
Sharp effect-derivative and forbidden-cell sign characterization.
The positive residual-energy denominator in the PPML derivative formula.
Definition (Lean source)
Full collapsed rank forces the residualized treatment regressor to have strictly positive fitted-mean-weighted energy.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
A treated effect moves beta with exactly the sign of its pseudo-true weighted FWL residual.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
FourCohort 32 declarations The explicit four-cohort sign-reversal fixture and its local diagnostic.
The explicit four-cohort sign-reversal fixture and its local diagnostic.
The numerator matrix of the no-effect two-way residual table.
Definition (Lean source)
The exact no-effect residual table displayed in the paper.
Definition (Lean source)
The homogeneous no-effect vector used only for the derivative diagnostic.
Definition (Lean source)
The counterexample's four-period horizon is positive. It is supplied as the positivity side condition wherever the fixture instantiates a result stated for a general panel horizon.
Definition (Lean source)
The counterexample's cohort support is nonempty: it contains the never-treated cohort.
Definition (Lean source)
The cohort that carries the exceptional effect in the counterexample: the units adopting at Lean date one, which is the paper's adoption date two.
The period in which the counterexample's exceptional effect occurs: Lean period three, which is the paper's period four and the last period of the panel.
Definition (Lean source)
The supported cohort-time cell at which the counterexample places its exceptionally large treatment effect: the paper's adoption cohort two, observed in the paper's period four.
Definition (Lean source)
The counterexample's collapsed design has full rank: no nonzero coefficient direction produces a zero linear index at every supported cohort-time cell, so the cell-mass-weighted sum of squared indices is strictly positive away from the origin.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
With zero treatment effects, the fitted mean equals one in every supported four-cohort cell.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Each cohort's entries in the explicit four-cohort residual table sum to zero over time.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The explicit four-cohort residual table sums to zero across cohorts in every period.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Any supported-cell function that is additive in an intercept, cohort component, and time component belongs to the collapsed fixed-effects nuisance space.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
In the four-cohort design, treatment minus the displayed residual table is a fixed-effects nuisance component.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Under zero treatment effects, every supported cell receives equal mean-projection weight, namely one sixteenth.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The explicit residual table has zero unweighted inner product with every nuisance regressor.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The explicit residual table is orthogonal, under the mean weights, to the entire fixed-effects nuisance space.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
In the four-cohort zero-effect design, the weighted FWL treatment residual equals the explicit residual-table entry in every cell.
Formal statement
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The specified four-cohort effects coincide with the multiplier-effect family evaluated at multipliers 1.01 and 4.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
For the specified four-cohort effects, the frontier elimination handle is exactly negative 11559 divided by 32000.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The four-cohort design's pseudo-true PPML treatment coefficient is negative.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Every treated cell in the four-cohort example has a strictly positive log treatment effect.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The late treated cell has a strictly larger log treatment effect than every other treated cell.
Formal statement
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The four-cohort primitive data satisfy all conditions defining the sign-reversal region.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The weighted FWL residual in the designated late-treated cell is exactly negative one eighth.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
With zero treatment effects, the weighted FWL residual energy is exactly five sixty-fourths.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At zero effects, increasing the late cell's log effect changes the pseudo-true PPML treatment coefficient at the exact rate negative one tenth.
Formal statement
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Changing treatment effects outside the supported cohorts leaves the limiting PPML criterion unchanged.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Changing treatment effects outside the supported cohorts leaves every fitted mean unchanged.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Changing treatment effects outside the supported cohorts leaves the weighted FWL treatment residual unchanged.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
There is a neighborhood of zero effects in which positive effects still give a negative marginal effect of the late cell on the pseudo-true PPML treatment coefficient.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
W4 is an all-positive sign reversal and has the stated negative late-cell derivative.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Helpers.FiniteCollapse 23 declarations This module contains the panel-specific algebra for collapsing a finite unit fixed-effect Poisson criterion to supported cohort-time cells.
Finite unit fixed-effect collapse
This module contains the panel-specific algebra for collapsing a finite unit fixed-effect Poisson criterion to supported cohort-time cells.
The finite collapsed criterion is the generic finite Poisson objective on the supported cohort-time table.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The paper's positive-weight rank condition makes the collapsed design map injective.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Positive supported counts and collapsed full rank give a unique finite collapsed maximizer.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The normalized intercept-plus-unit-effect represented by unit nuisance coordinates.
The normalized time effect represented by unit nuisance coordinates.
Definition (Lean source)
At any unit-period observation, the linear index of a unit-and-time fixed-effect parameter splits into three pieces: that unit's level (intercept plus its unit effect), that period's time effect, and the treatment coefficient times the unit's treatment indicator.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The intercept-plus-cohort-effect represented by collapsed nuisance coordinates.
Definition (Lean source)
The time effect that a collapsed cohort-time parameter assigns to a calendar period: the period's own time-dummy coordinate, and zero in the omitted base period.
Definition (Lean source)
At any supported cohort-time cell, the linear index of a collapsed parameter splits into three pieces: that cohort's level (intercept plus its cohort effect), that period's time effect, and the treatment coefficient times the cohort's treatment indicator.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The unit-and-time fixed-effect design as a finite linear map.
Definition (Lean source)
If every supported cohort occurs, collapsed full rank implies full column rank of the corresponding unit fixed-effect design.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The unit-level PPML criterion is exactly the finite Poisson objective with equal weight on each unit-period observation.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
A collapsed parameter can be lifted to unit fixed effects by adding each unit's log baseline ratio within its cohort.
Definition (Lean source)
Lifting a collapsed cohort-time parameter into unit-and-time fixed effects reproduces the collapsed linear index at every unit-period observation, shifted by the log ratio of that unit's baseline to the average baseline of its cohort. Every unit is assumed to belong to a supported cohort.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Baseline ratios sum to the cohort count.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
A weighted sum over units whose summand is cohort-constant collapses to a count-weighted sum over supported cohorts.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Summing any quantity over units equals summing it first within each supported adoption cohort and then across cohorts.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
An arbitrary unit-level parameter direction can be collapsed by taking baseline-ratio-weighted averages of unit fixed-effect levels within each cohort.
Definition (Lean source)
Aggregating a unit-and-time direction into collapsed coordinates gives, at every supported cohort-time cell, the baseline-ratio-weighted within-cohort average of the unit levels, plus the direction's time effect for that period, plus its treatment coefficient times the cohort's treatment indicator.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At a lifted parameter, a unit residual is its baseline ratio times the corresponding collapsed cell residual.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The score of a lifted collapsed parameter in any unit direction equals the collapsed score in the baseline-ratio-aggregated direction.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At every finite array with positive supported counts, the unique unit-FE and collapsed maximizers have exactly the same treatment coordinate.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The selected finite collapsed projections converge to the limiting collapsed projection under the paper's share and baseline limits.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Helpers.Frontier 22 declarations This file defines the all-positive sign-reversal region, the concrete four-cohort fixture, and the row/column-margin elimination polynomial Phi.
Primitive sign-frontier constructions
This file defines the all-positive sign-reversal region, the concrete
four-cohort fixture, and the row/column-margin elimination polynomial Phi.
Treated cells within the declared cohort support.
Definition (Lean source)
Primitive tuples indexed only by the paper's declared cohort and cell domains.
Definition (Lean source)
The collapsed PPML objective written directly in the C-indexed primitive coordinates.
Definition (Lean source)
Treatment coordinate selected by the primitive collapsed objective.
Definition (Lean source)
Restrict full-array primitives to exactly the coordinates declared in R_T.
Definition (Lean source)
The all-positive-effect PPML sign-reversal region R_T.
Definition (Lean source)
Four adoption cohorts: paper dates 2, 3, 4, and never treated.
Equal cohort counts along the cofinal sequence N = 4(m+1).
Definition (Lean source)
Every cohort in the declared four-cohort support has positive count.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Unit baselines are identically one in the fixture.
Definition (Lean source)
Untreated time effects are identically zero in the fixture.
Definition (Lean source)
The W4 effect vector: log(4) at paper cell (2,4), and log(101/100) elsewhere treated.
Definition (Lean source)
Unit limiting cohort baselines in W4.
Definition (Lean source)
The data specifying a four-period triangular-array configuration: a cohort support, the cohort counts along the array, the unit baselines at each array size, the untreated time effects, and the cohort-time log proportional effects. The paper's explicit counterexample world is a single element of this type.
The concrete four-cohort triangular-array configuration W4.
Definition (Lean source)
Primitive positive cell mass before division by the common time factor.
Definition (Lean source)
Row margin R_g.
Definition (Lean source)
Column margin C_t.
Total primitive mass M.
Definition (Lean source)
Treated primitive total A.
Definition (Lean source)
The nuisance-free frontier polynomial Phi = M*A - sum D_gt R_g C_t.
Definition (Lean source)
Helpers.FrontierSign 18 declarations Algebra connecting the primitive margin frontier to the conditional Poisson score.
Algebra connecting the primitive margin frontier to the conditional Poisson score.
Every primitive cohort-period mass is strictly positive.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The primitive mass summed over all periods is strictly positive for every cohort.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The primitive mass summed over supported cohorts is strictly positive in every period.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The total primitive mass over all supported cohort-period cells is strictly positive.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Adding the period-specific primitive masses yields the total primitive mass.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The beta-zero fixed-effects parameter matches primitive row and column margins through a normalized row-column construction.
Definition (Lean source)
At the zero-treatment-coefficient frontier parameter, the linear index of every supported cohort-time cell is the log of that cohort's row margin divided by its limiting cohort share, plus the log of that period's column margin, minus the log of the total primitive mass. This is the row-column (independence-table) form of the fitted log mean.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At the frontier parameter, each fitted mean is the product of its row and column primitive margins, divided by its cohort share and the total primitive mass.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The conditional residual is the cell-mass-weighted difference between the observed mean and the beta-zero row-column fitted mean.
Definition (Lean source)
The conditional residual at the zero-treatment-coefficient frontier equals the cell's primitive mass minus the product of its row and column margins divided by the total primitive mass, the whole difference divided by the number of periods. In other words the residual table is exactly the independence-table residual of the primitive mass matrix, rescaled by the panel length.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The conditional residuals sum to zero within every supported cohort.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The conditional residuals sum to zero across supported cohorts in every period.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At the beta-zero frontier fit, every nuisance-regressor score of the PPML objective is zero.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
At the beta-zero frontier fit, the treatment score equals the frontier elimination handle divided by the horizon and total primitive mass.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The collapsed pseudo-true treatment coefficient has exactly the sign of the primitive elimination handle.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The limiting criterion generated by the restricted primitive data is exactly the collapsed limiting PPML criterion.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The pseudo-true treatment coefficient from the restricted primitive data equals the collapsed-model pseudo-true coefficient.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Helpers.PoissonArgmaxDerivative 1 declarations Panel specialization of the shared one-cell finite-Poisson derivative theorem.
Panel specialization of the shared one-cell finite-Poisson derivative theorem.
Perturbing one treated collapsed cell differentiates the selected PPML treatment coefficient by its weighted-FWL residual contribution.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Helpers.WeightedFWL 9 declarations This file normalizes the positive weights q_gt * mu_star_gt, builds the shared WeightedSupport, and applies its nuisance-space residual maker to the treatment regressor.
Mean-weighted FWL residuals
This file normalizes the positive weights q_gt * mu_star_gt, builds the
shared WeightedSupport, and applies its nuisance-space residual maker to the
treatment regressor.
Normalize positive weights on a nonempty finite support.
Definition (Lean source)
The raw effect-dependent PPML projection weight.
Definition (Lean source)
The normalized support carrying weights proportional to q_gt * mu_star_gt.
Definition (Lean source)
The nuisance subspace spanned by the fixed-effect columns X_gt.
Definition (Lean source)
The coefficient-vector WLS objective whose minimizer is rho_star.
Definition (Lean source)
The selected minimizer of the mean-weighted nuisance projection.
Definition (Lean source)
The pseudo-true mean-weighted FWL treatment residual.
Definition (Lean source)
On supported cells, the substrate residual equals the coefficient-form residual.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
A solution of the one-cell linearized collapsed Poisson score has treatment coordinate equal to the weighted-FWL residual contribution divided by its weighted energy.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Helpers.WeightedFWLContinuity 9 declarations Continuity of the effect-dependent mean-weighted FWL residual.
Continuity of the effect-dependent mean-weighted FWL residual.
The collapsed population parameter varies continuously with the full finite effect array.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Every fitted supported-cell mean varies continuously with the full effect array.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Raw-weight nuisance Gram matrix for the fixed collapsed nuisance basis.
Definition (Lean source)
Raw-weight nuisance normal-equation right-hand side.
Definition (Lean source)
Continuous finite-basis coefficient formula for the nuisance projection.
Definition (Lean source)
The quadratic form of the mean-weighted nuisance Gram matrix is a weighted sum of squares over the supported cohort-time cells: for any coefficient direction, it equals the sum over cells of that cell's mean weight times the square of the cell's nuisance regressor evaluated in the direction. Since the mean weights are nonnegative, this exhibits the Gram matrix as positive semidefinite.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Positive fitted means and collapsed full rank make the fixed nuisance Gram matrix nonsingular at every effect array.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The chosen semidefinite projection agrees on the full supported table with the nonsingular finite Gram formula.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Under collapsed full rank, the fitted-mean-weighted treatment residual at each supported cell is continuous under simultaneous perturbation of the entire finite effect vector.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Homogeneous 1 declarations Correct-specification reduction under a homogeneous proportional effect.
Correct-specification reduction under a homogeneous proportional effect.
A common treated-cell log effect is recovered exactly by the collapsed PPML projection.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
PrimitiveFrontier 8 declarations The nuisance-free global frontier and the distinct counterfactual-share PTT target.
The nuisance-free global frontier and the distinct counterfactual-share PTT target.
The treated supported cells.
Definition (Lean source)
Observed-population untreated baseline formed from period one and never-treated means.
Definition (Lean source)
The granular observed proportional effect.
Definition (Lean source)
Counterfactual-share normalizing constant.
Definition (Lean source)
Counterfactual-share weight on a treated cell.
Definition (Lean source)
Four-period multiplier family used for the exact threshold calculation.
Definition (Lean source)
Phi has exactly the sign of the pseudo-true beta and yields the stated PTT diagnosis.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
Projection 3 declarations Existence, uniqueness, and score characterization of the collapsed PPML projection.
Existence, uniqueness, and score characterization of the collapsed PPML projection.
The collapsed design as a linear map into its finite supported-cell table.
Definition (Lean source)
The nested cohort/time criterion is the generic finite Poisson objective on the supported-cell product.
Formal statement
Proof (Lean source)
The pseudo-true collapsed parameter is unique and solves every score equation.