每日简报

因果聚类：网络干扰下的群组实验设计AI 解读

This paper studies the design of cluster experiments to estimate the global treatment effect in the presence of network spillovers. We provide a framework to choose the clustering that minimizes the worst-case mean-squared error of the estimated global effect. We show that optimal clustering solves a novel penalized min-cut optimization problem computed via off-the-shelf semi-definite programming algorithms. Our analysis also characterizes simple conditions to choose between…

移动健康零膨胀计数结果的因果偏离效应：非参数估计方法AI 解读

In mobile health, tailoring interventions for real-time delivery is of paramount importance. Micro-randomized trials have emerged as the "gold-standard" methodology for developing such interventions. Analyzing data from these trials provides insights into the efficacy of interventions and the potential moderation by specific covariates. The "causal excursion effect", a novel class of causal estimand, addresses these inquiries. Yet, existing research mainly focuses on…

样本量为一时的随机化推断AI 解读

N-of-1 experiments, where a unit serves as its own control and treatment in different time windows, have been used in certain medical contexts for decades. However, due to effects that accumulate over long time windows and interventions that have complex evolution, a lack of robust inference tools has limited the widespread applicability of such N-of-1 designs. This work combines techniques from experiment design in causal inference and system identification from control…

价格实验与干扰AI 解读

In this paper, we examine the biases that arise when firms run A/B tests on continuous parameters to estimate global treatment effects on performance metrics of interest; we particularly focus on price experiments to measure the price impact on quantity demanded, and on profit. In canonical A/B experimental estimators, biases emerge due to interference between market participants. We employ structural modeling and differential calculus to derive intuitive characterizations…

秩—秩回归的统计推断AI 解读

The slope coefficient in a rank-rank regression is a popular measure of intergenerational mobility. In this article, we first show that commonly used inference methods for this slope parameter are invalid. Second, when the underlying distribution is not continuous, the OLS estimator and its distribution may be sensitive to how ties in the ranks are handled. Motivated by these findings we derive the asymptotic distribution of the OLS estimator and provide valid inference…

CATE Lasso：高维线性回归中的条件平均处理效应估计AI 解读

In causal inference about two treatments, Conditional Average Treatment Effects (CATEs) play an important role as a quantity representing an individualized causal effect, defined as a difference between the expected outcomes of the two treatments conditioned on covariates. This study assumes two linear regression models between a potential outcome and covariates of the two treatments and defines CATEs as a difference between the linear regression models. Then, we propose a…

公平的自适应实验AI 解读

Randomized experiments have been the gold standard for assessing the effectiveness of a treatment or policy. The classical complete randomization approach assigns treatments based on a prespecified probability and may lead to inefficient use of data. Adaptive experiments improve upon complete randomization by sequentially learning and updating treatment assignment probabilities. However, their application can also raise fairness and equity concerns, as assignment…

应对 A/B 测试中数据训练循环引发的干扰：加权训练方法AI 解读

In modern recommendation systems, the standard pipeline involves training machine learning models on historical data to predict user behaviors and improve recommendations continuously. However, these data training loops can introduce interference in A/B tests, where data generated by control and treatment algorithms, potentially with different distributions, are combined. To address these challenges, we introduce a novel approach called weighted training. This approach…

双重差分估计中的处理前趋势等价性检验AI 解读

The plausibility of the ``parallel trends assumption'' in Difference-in-Differences estimation is usually assessed by a test of the null hypothesis that the difference between the average outcomes of both groups is constant over time before the treatment. However, failure to reject the null hypothesis does not imply the absence of differences in time trends between both groups. We provide equivalence tests that allow researchers to find evidence in favor of the parallel…

采用加性混合先验的贝叶斯预后协变量调整AI 解读

Effective and rapid decision-making from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) requires unbiased and precise treatment effect inferences. Two strategies to address this requirement are to adjust for covariates that are highly correlated with the outcome, and to leverage historical control information via Bayes' theorem. We propose a new Bayesian prognostic covariate adjustment methodology, referred to as Bayesian PROCOVA, that combines these two strategies. Covariate…

将双重差分研究的处理效应迁移至目标总体AI 解读

Difference-in-differences (DID) is a popular approach to identify the causal effects of treatments and policies in the presence of unmeasured confounding. DID identifies the sample average treatment effect in the treated (SATT). However, a goal of such research is often to inform decision-making in target populations outside the treated sample. Transportability methods have been developed to extend inferences from study samples to external target populations; these methods…

Rothman 图：流行病学因果推断的几何视角AI 解读

Here, we explain and illustrate a geometric perspective on causal inference in cohort studies that can help epidemiologists understand the role of standardization in causal inference as well as the distinctions between confounding, effect modification, and noncollapsibility. For simplicity, we focus on a binary exposure X, a binary outcome D, and a binary confounder C that is not causally affected by X. Rothman diagrams plot risk in the unexposed on the x-axis and risk in…

通过剥离算法实现广义线性模型的因果发现AI 解读

This article presents a novel method for causal discovery with generalized structural equation models suited for analyzing diverse types of outcomes, including discrete, continuous, and mixed data. Causal discovery often faces challenges due to unmeasured confounders that hinder the identification of causal relationships. The proposed approach addresses this issue by developing two peeling algorithms (bottom-up and top-down) to ascertain causal relationships and valid…

通过函数型生存分析刻画动态处理效应类型AI 解读

In recent years, research interest in personalised treatments has been growing. However, treatment effect heterogeneity and possibly time-varying treatment effects are still often overlooked in clinical studies. Statistical tools are needed for the identification of treatment response patterns, taking into account that treatment response is not constant over time. We aim to provide an innovative method to obtain dynamic treatment effect phenotypes on a time-to-event outcome,…

含随机波动率与多重时变权重的贝叶斯空间自回归模型AI 解读

A novel spatial autoregressive model for panel data is introduced, which incorporates multilayer networks and accounts for time-varying relationships. Moreover, the proposed approach allows the structural variance to evolve smoothly over time and enables the analysis of shock propagation in terms of time-varying spillover effects. The framework is applied to analyse the dynamics of international relationships among the G7 economies and their impact on stock market returns…

利用离散工具变量双重稳健识别连续处理的因果效应AI 解读

Many empirical applications estimate causal effects of a continuous endogenous variable (treatment) using a binary instrument. Estimation is typically done through linear 2SLS. This approach requires a mean treatment change and causal interpretation requires the LATE-type monotonicity in the first stage. An alternative approach is to explore distributional changes in the treatment, where the first-stage restriction is treatment rank similarity. We propose causal estimands…

评估非线性加性噪声模型的整体与局部因果设定正确性AI 解读

We propose a method to detect model misspecifications in nonlinear causal additive and potentially heteroscedastic noise models. We aim to identify predictor variables for which we can infer the causal effect even in cases of such misspecification. We develop a general framework based on knowledge of the multivariate observational data distribution. We then propose an algorithm for finite sample data, discuss its asymptotic properties, and illustrate its performance on…

通过分割实现暴露—结果对的多项式时间局部因果发现AI 解读

Causal discovery is crucial for causal inference in observational studies, as it can enable the identification of valid adjustment sets (VAS) for unbiased effect estimation. However, global causal discovery is notoriously hard in the nonparametric setting, with exponential time and sample complexity in the worst case. To address this, we propose local discovery by partitioning (LDP): a local causal discovery method that is tailored for downstream inference tasks without…

从时间序列因果图的抽象表示识别总效应AI 解读

We study the problem of identifiability of the total effect of an intervention from observational time series in the situation, common in practice, where one only has access to abstractions of the true causal graph. We consider here two abstractions: the extended summary causal graph, which conflates all lagged causal relations but distinguishes between lagged and instantaneous relations, and the summary causal graph which does not give any indication about the lag between…

用于条件平均处理效应模型选择的因果 Q 聚合AI 解读

Accurate estimation of conditional average treatment effects (CATE) is at the core of personalized decision making. While there is a plethora of models for CATE estimation, model selection is a nontrivial task, due to the fundamental problem of causal inference. Recent empirical work provides evidence in favor of proxy loss metrics with double robust properties and in favor of model ensembling. However, theoretical understanding is lacking. Direct application of prior…

结果缺失下的设计型因果推断：缺失机制、插补随机化检验与协变量调整AI 解读

Design-based causal inference, also known as randomization-based or finite-population causal inference, is one of the most widely used causal inference frameworks, largely due to the merit that its validity can be guaranteed by study design (e.g., randomized experiments) and does not require assuming specific outcome-generating distributions or super-population models. Despite its advantages, design-based causal inference can still suffer from other issues, among which…

比例风险模型中的倾向加权加回归调整不具一般双重稳健性AI 解读

Recently, it has become common for applied works to combine commonly used survival analysis modeling methods, such as the multivariable Cox model and propensity score weighting, with the intention of forming a doubly robust estimator of an exposure effect hazard ratio that is unbiased in large samples when either the Cox model or the propensity score model is correctly specified. This combination does not, in general, produce a doubly robust estimator, even after regression…

协变量平衡与平均处理效应加权、双重稳健估计量的等价性AI 解读

How should researchers adjust for covariates? We show that if the propensity score is estimated using a specific covariate balancing approach, inverse probability weighting (IPW), augmented inverse probability weighting (AIPW), and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimators are numerically equivalent for the average treatment effect (ATE), and likewise for the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT). The resulting weights are inherently…

存在跨簇干扰的整群随机试验AI 解读

The literature on cluster-randomized trials typically allows for interference within but not across clusters. This may be implausible when units are irregularly distributed across space without well-separated communities, as clusters in such cases may not align with significant geographic, social, or economic divisions. This paper develops methods for reducing bias due to cross-cluster interference. We first propose an estimation strategy that excludes units not surrounded…