Causal Inference for Statistics, Social, and Biomedical Sciences
An Introduction

This text presents statistical methods for studying causal effects and discusses how readers can assess such effects in simple randomized experiments.

Guido W. Imbens (Author), Donald B. Rubin (Author)

9780521885881, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 April 2015

644 pages, 18 b/w illus. 97 tables
26.1 x 18.5 x 3.3 cm, 1.28 kg

'Guido Imbens and Donald Rubin have written an authoritative textbook on causal inference that is expected to have a lasting impact on social and biomedical scientists as well as statisticians. Researchers have been waiting for the publication of this book, which is a welcome addition to the growing list of textbooks and monographs on causality … the authors should be congratulated for the publication of this impressive volume. The hook provides a unified introduction to the potential outcomes approach with the focus on the basic causal inference problems that arise in randomized experiments and observational studies.' Alicia A. Lloro, Journal of the American Statistical Association

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.

Part I. Introduction: 1. The basic framework: potential outcomes, stability, and the assignment mechanism
2. A brief history of the potential-outcome approach to causal inference
3. A taxonomy of assignment mechanisms
Part II. Classical Randomized Experiments: 4. A taxonomy of classical randomized experiments
5. Fisher's exact P-values for completely randomized experiments
6. Neyman's repeated sampling approach to completely randomized experiments
7. Regression methods for completely randomized experiments
8. Model-based inference in completely randomized experiments
9. Stratified randomized experiments
10. Paired randomized experiments
11. Case study: an experimental evaluation of a labor-market program
Part III. Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Design: 12. Unconfounded treatment assignment
13. Estimating the propensity score
14. Assessing overlap in covariate distributions
15. Design in observational studies: matching to ensure balance in covariate distributions
16. Design in observational studies: trimming to ensure balance in covariate distributions
Part IV. Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Analysis: 17. Subclassification on the propensity score
18. Matching estimators (Card-Krueger data)
19. Estimating the variance of estimators under unconfoundedness
20. Alternative estimands
Part V. Regular Assignment Mechanisms: Supplementary Analyses: 21. Assessing the unconfoundedness assumption
22. Sensitivity analysis and bounds
Part VI. Regular Assignment Mechanisms with Noncompliance: Analysis: 23. Instrumental-variables analysis of randomized experiments with one-sided noncompliance
24. Instrumental-variables analysis of randomized experiments with two-sided noncompliance
25. Model-based analyses with instrumental variables
Part VII. Conclusion: 26. Conclusions and extensions.

Subject Areas: Probability & statistics [PBT], Epidemiology & medical statistics [MBNS], Health economics [KCQ], Economics of industrial organisation [KCD]