每日简报

用于因果发现的函数型线性非高斯无环模型AI 解读

In causal discovery, non-Gaussianity has been used to characterize the complete configuration of a Linear Non-Gaussian Acyclic Model (LiNGAM), encompassing both the causal ordering of variables and their respective connection strengths. However, LiNGAM can only deal with the finite-dimensional case. To expand this concept, we extend the notion of variables to encompass vectors and even functions, leading to the Functional Linear Non-Gaussian Acyclic Model (Func-LiNGAM). Our…

利用 GWAS 汇总数据估计遗传高斯网络AI 解读

Genetic Gaussian network of multiple phenotypes constructed through the genetic correlation matrix is informative for understanding their biological dependencies. However, its interpretation may be challenging because the estimated genetic correlations are biased due to estimation errors and horizontal pleiotropy inherent in GWAS summary statistics. Here we introduce a novel approach called Estimation of Genetic Graph (EGG), which eliminates the estimation error bias and…

通过条件熵恢复因果分层AI 解读

Causal discovery aims to recover information about an unobserved causal graph from the observable data it generates. Layerings are orderings of the variables which place causes before effects. In this paper, we provide ways to recover layerings of a graph by accessing the data via a conditional entropy oracle, when distributions are discrete. Our algorithms work by repeatedly removing sources or sinks from the graph. Under appropriate assumptions and conditioning, we can…

用于调节效应分析的因果机器学习AI 解读

It is valuable for any decision maker to know the impact of decisions (treatments) on average and for subgroups. The causal machine learning literature has recently provided tools for estimating group average treatment effects (GATE) to better describe treatment heterogeneity. This paper addresses the challenge of interpreting such differences in treatment effects between groups while accounting for variations in other covariates. We propose a new parameter, the balanced…

随机对照试验中局部平均处理效应的设计型估计与中心极限定理AI 解读

There is a growing literature on design-based methods to estimate average treatment effects for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the underpinnings of experiments. In this article, we build on these methods to consider design-based regression estimators for the local average treatment effect (LATE) estimand for RCTs with treatment noncompliance. We prove new finite-population central limit theorems for a range of designs, including blocked and clustered RCTs,…

当暴露影响子群成员资格：围产期流行病学及其他情境中的因果问题AI 解读

Perinatal epidemiology often aims to evaluate exposures on infant outcomes. When the exposure affects the composition of people who give birth to live infants (e.g., by affecting fertility, behavior, or birth outcomes), this "live birth process" mediates the exposure effect on infant outcomes. Causal estimands previously proposed for this setting include the total exposure effect on composite birth and infant outcomes, controlled direct effects (e.g., enforcing birth), and…

保护隐私的自适应实验设计AI 解读

Adaptive experiment is widely adopted to estimate conditional average treatment effect (CATE) in clinical trials and many other scenarios. While the primary goal in experiment is to maximize estimation accuracy, due to the imperative of social welfare, it's also crucial to provide treatment with superior outcomes to patients, which is measured by regret in contextual bandit framework. These two objectives often lead to contrast optimal allocation mechanism. Furthermore,…

网络时间序列中的群落建模：美国总统选举应用AI 解读

Network time series are becoming increasingly relevant in the study of dynamic processes characterised by a known or inferred underlying network structure. Generalised Network Autoregressive (GNAR) models provide a parsimonious framework for exploiting the underlying network, even in the high-dimensional setting. We extend the GNAR framework by presenting the $\textit{community}$-$α$ GNAR model that exploits prior knowledge and/or exogenous variables for identifying and…

利用反事实删失无偏变换估计生存结局的异质性处理效应AI 解读

Methods for estimating heterogeneous treatment effects (HTE) from observational data have largely focused on continuous or binary outcomes, with less attention paid to survival outcomes and almost none to settings with competing risks. In this work, we develop censoring unbiased transformations (CUTs) for survival outcomes both with and without competing risks. After converting time-to-event outcomes using these CUTs, direct application of HTE learners for continuous…

整群随机试验中不完整结果与协变量的处理AI 解读

In cluster-randomized trials (CRTs), missing data can occur in various ways, including missing values in outcomes and baseline covariates at the individual or cluster level, or completely missing information for non-participants. Among the various types of missing data in CRTs, missing outcomes have attracted the most attention. However, no existing methods simultaneously address all aforementioned types of missing data in CRTs. To fill in this gap, we propose a…

多元结果非可分工具变量模型的识别与估计AI 解读

This paper proposes a novel nonseparable instrumental variable model to address endogeneity in settings with multivariate outcomes. While traditional approaches typically estimate separate one-dimensional quantile models for each outcome, the inherent correlation among different dimensions frequently invalidates their fundamental assumptions. To overcome this limitation, our framework jointly models the distribution of multiple outcomes. By assuming that the structural…

重新审视事件研究设计：稳健且有效的估计AI 解读

We develop a framework for difference-in-differences designs with staggered treatment adoption and heterogeneous causal effects. We show that conventional regression-based estimators fail to provide unbiased estimates of relevant estimands absent strong restrictions on treatment-effect homogeneity. We then derive the efficient estimator addressing this challenge, which takes an intuitive "imputation" form when treatment-effect heterogeneity is unrestricted. We characterize…

基尼稳定的洛伦兹曲线及其与广义帕累托分布的关系AI 解读

We introduce an iterative discrete information production process where we can extend ordered normalised vectors by new elements based on a simple affine transformation, while preserving the predefined level of inequality, G, as measured by the Gini index. Then, we derive the family of empirical Lorenz curves of the corresponding vectors and prove that it is stochastically ordered with respect to both the sample size and G which plays the role of the uncertainty parameter.…

暴露测量误差插补型回归校准的因果协变量选择AI 解读

In this paper, we identify the criteria for the selection of the minimal and most efficient covariate adjustment sets for the regression calibration method developed by Carroll, Rupert and Stefanski (CRS, 1992), used to correct bias due to continuous exposure measurement error. We utilize directed acyclic graphs to illustrate how subject matter knowledge can aid in the selection of such adjustment sets. Valid measurement error correction requires the collection of data on…

合成组合：组合干预的因果推断框架AI 解读

Consider a setting where there are $N$ heterogeneous units and $p$ interventions. Our goal is to learn unit-specific potential outcomes for any combination of these $p$ interventions, i.e., $N \times 2^p$ causal parameters. Choosing a combination of interventions is a problem that naturally arises in a variety of applications such as factorial design experiments, recommendation engines, combination therapies in medicine, conjoint analysis, etc. Running $N \times 2^p$ experime…

企业竞争行为检验AI 解读

Evaluating policy in imperfectly competitive markets requires understanding firm behavior. While researchers test conduct via model selection and assessment, we present advantages of Rivers and Vuong (2002) (RV) model selection under misspecification. However, degeneracy of RV invalidates inference. With a novel definition of weak instruments for testing, we connect degeneracy to instrument strength, derive weak instrument properties of RV, and provide a diagnostic for weak…

利用先验知识发现含未观测变量的因果加性模型及其时间序列应用AI 解读

This paper proposes two methods for causal additive models with unobserved variables (CAM-UV). CAM-UV assumes that the causal functions take the form of generalized additive models and that latent confounders are present. First, we propose a method that leverages prior knowledge for efficient causal discovery. Then, we propose an extension of this method for inferring causality in time series data. The original CAM-UV algorithm differs from other existing causal function…

带加性与乘性噪声的线性随机微分方程生成元识别AI 解读

In this paper, we present conditions for identifying the generator of a linear stochastic differential equation (SDE) from the distribution of its solution process with a given fixed initial state. These identifiability conditions are crucial in causal inference using linear SDEs as they enable the identification of the post-intervention distributions from its observational distribution. Specifically, we derive a sufficient and necessary condition for identifying the…