Causal Inference for Statistics, Social, and Biomedical Sciences

An Introduction

Guido W. Imbens, Donald B. Rubin

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9780521885881
• eBook ISBN:
  9781316094112
• Topic: Mathematics
• Subtopic: Probability & Statistics
• Index: Mathematics

Most questions in social and biomedical sciences are causal in nature: what would happen to individuals, or to groups, if part of their environment were changed? In this groundbreaking text, two world-renowned experts present statistical methods for studying such questions. This book starts with the notion of potential outcomes, each corresponding to the outcome that would be realized if a subject were exposed to a particular treatment or regime. In this approach, causal effects are comparisons of such potential outcomes. The fundamental problem of causal inference is that we can only observe one of the potential outcomes for a particular subject. The authors discuss how randomized experiments allow us to assess causal effects and then turn to observational studies. They lay out the assumptions needed for causal inference and describe the leading analysis methods, including matching, propensity-score methods, and instrumental variables. Many detailed applications are included, with special focus on practical aspects for the empirical researcher.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Epigraph
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Dedication
• Table of contents
• Preface
• Part I Introduction
• Part II Classical Randomized Experiments
• Part III Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Design
• Part IV Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Analysis
• Part V Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Supplementary Analyses
• Part VI Regular Assignment Mechanisms with Noncompliance: Analysis
• Part VII Conclusion
• References
• Author Index
• Subject Index