Title:      Estimating and Bounding Mechanism Specific Causal
Effects

Authors:    Adam Glynn

Entrydate:  2008-07-03 13:04:14

Keywords:   counterfactuals, causal, mechanism

Abstract:   Political scientists often cite the importance of
mechanism specific causal knowledge, both for its intrinsic
scientific value and as a necessity for informed policy.
However, outside the framework of additive linear regression
models with homogenous causal effects, mechanism specific
effects are, in general, not estimated explicitly.
Counterfactual causal models allow the formal definition of such
concepts as direct, indirect, and mechanism specific effects, and
the derivation of conditions for their identification (point or
interval). In this paper, I demonstrate the use of
counterfactuals to decompose causal effects into mechanism
specific effects, showing that estimation and bounding can be
accomplished with minor adjustments to standard techniques. I
illustrate this methodology with examples from American and
Comparative Politics.  

http://polmeth.wustl.edu/retrieve.php?id=771

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