每日简报

扰动效用模型的 Fenchel–Young 估计量AI 解读

Perturbed Utility Models (PUMs) represent discrete choice as utility maximization under convex perturbation or regularization, encompassing a broad class of choice models, including Multinomial Logit (MNL) and models that permit zero choice probabilities. Because, for general perturbations, maximum likelihood may be non-convex, and the negative log-likelihood is infinite when a sparse model assigns zero probability to an observed choice, we specialize the Fenchel--Young…

干预下序贯预测的灵活方法AI 解读

We propose a causal predictive framework for estimating risk under preventative interventions. The Unexposed Mediator Model maintains mediators that are also predictors at their unexposed level, removing double counting of intervention effects at followup visits. The Modifiable Risk Factor Model handles multiple interventions flexibly by modelling their effects via mediators that are also predictors, assuming a known causal structure. The Two Component Model combines a…

聚类数据下的 knockoffs 变量选择AI 解读

We extend the knockoffs method for selecting predictors to clustered data (cross-sectional or repeated measures). In the setting of clustered data, variable selection is complex because some predictors are measured at the observation level (level 1), whereas others are measured at the cluster level (level 2), so their values are constant within clusters. The solution we propose is to conduct variable selection separately at the two levels. To this end, we suggest a two-step…

纵向数据的自适应惩罚双稳健回归AI 解读

Longitudinal data often involve heterogeneity, sparse signals, and contamination from response outliers or high-leverage observations especially in biomedical science. Existing methods usually address only part of this problem, either emphasizing penalized mixed effects modeling without robustness or robust mixed effects estimation without high-dimensional variable selection. We propose a doubly adaptive robust regression (DAR-R) framework for longitudinal linear mixed…

高斯图模型下网络复杂度的估计AI 解读

The proportion of edges in a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) characterizes the complexity of its conditional dependence structure. Since edge presence corresponds to a nonzero entry of the precision matrix, estimation of this proportion can be formulated as a large-scale multiple testing problem. We propose an estimator that combines p-values from simultaneous edge-wise tests, conducted under false discovery rate control, with Storey's estimator of the proportion of true null…

高维实验与观察性研究中的效应同质性及混杂检验AI 解读

We propose a framework for testing the homogeneity of conditional average treatment effects (CATEs) across multiple experimental and observational studies. Our approach leverages multiple randomized trials to assess whether treatment effects vary with unobserved heterogeneity that differs across trials: if CATEs are homogeneous, this indicates the absence of interactions between treatment and unobservables in the mean effect. Comparing CATEs between experimental and…

网络干扰与组合处理下的个体化因果效应AI 解读

Modern causal decision-making increasingly demands individualized treatment-effect estimation in networks where interventions are high-dimensional, combinatorial vectors. While network interference, effect heterogeneity, and multi-dimensional treatments have been studied separately, their intersection yields an exponentially large intervention space that makes standard identification tools and low-dimensional exposure mappings untenable. We bridge this gap with a unified…

基于置换不变表征的组合处理正交增量效应学习AI 解读

We study uplift estimation for combinatorial treatments. Uplift measures the pure incremental causal effect of an intervention (e.g., sending a coupon or a marketing message) on user behavior, modeled as a conditional individual treatment effect. Many real-world interventions are combinatorial: a treatment is a policy that specifies context-dependent action distributions rather than a single atomic label. Although recent work considers structured treatments, most methods…

Neyman 正交性下的半参数贝叶斯推断AI 解读

The validity of two-step or plug-in inference methods is questioned in the Bayesian framework. We study semi-parametric models where the plug-in of a non-parametrically modelled nuisance component is used. We show that when the nuisance and targeted parameters satisfy a Neyman orthogonal score property, the approach of cutting feedback through a two-step procedure is a valid way of conducting Bayesian inference. Our method relies on a non-parametric Bayesian formulation…

异质性处理效应中的群体偏差检测与缓解AI 解读

Heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs) are increasingly estimated using machine learning models that produce highly personalized predictions of treatment effects. In practice, however, predicted treatment effects are rarely interpreted, reported, or audited at the individual level but, instead, are often aggregated to broader subgroups, such as demographic segments, risk strata, or markets. We show that such aggregation can induce systematic bias of the group-level causal…

二元结局随机实验中精确置信区间的快速算法AI 解读

We construct exact confidence intervals for the average treatment effect in randomized experiments with binary outcomes using sequences of randomization tests. Our approach does not rely on large-sample approximations and is valid for all sample sizes. Under a balanced Bernoulli design or a matched-pairs design, we show that exact confidence intervals can be computed using only $O(\log n)$ randomization tests, yielding an exponential reduction in the number of tests compared…

利用既有研究设计实验：经验贝叶斯方法AI 解读

We develop an empirical Bayes framework for experimental design that leverages information from prior related studies. When a researcher has access to estimates from previous studies on similar parameters, they can use empirical Bayes to estimate an informative prior over the parameter of interest in the new study. We show how this prior can be incorporated into a decision-theoretic experimental design framework to choose optimal design. The approach is illustrated via…

光滑密度下因果部分识别的统计推断AI 解读

Many causal quantities are only partially identifiable due to the inherent missingness of potential outcomes, and the associated partial identification (PI) sets can be obtained by solving an optimal transport (OT) problem. Covariates often provide additional information about the potential outcomes and thus yield tighter PI sets, which can be obtained via conditional optimal transport (COT). However, COT-based PI set estimators are susceptible to the curse of dimensionality…

用于交错政策实施评估的可交换高斯过程AI 解读

We study the use of exchangeable multi-task Gaussian processes (GPs) for causal inference in panel data, applying the framework to two settings: one with a single treated unit subject to a once-and-for-all treatment and another with multiple treated units and staggered treatment adoption. Our approach models the joint evolution of outcomes for treated and control units through a GP prior that ensures exchangeability across units while allowing for flexible nonlinear trends…

经验校准的条件独立性检验AI 解读

Conditional independence tests (CIT) are widely used for causal discovery and feature selection. Even with false discovery rate (FDR) control procedures, they often fail to provide frequentist guarantees in practice. We highlight two common failure modes: (i) in small samples, asymptotic guarantees for many CITs can be inaccurate and even correctly specified models fail to estimate the noise levels and control the error, and (ii) when sample sizes are large but models are…

相关网络的邻接谱嵌入AI 解读

In many applications, weighted networks are constructed based on time series data: each time series is associated to a vertex and edge weights are given by pairwise correlations. The result is a network whose edge dependency structure violates the assumptions of most common network models. Nonetheless, it is common to analyze these "correlation networks" using embedding methods derived from edge-independent network models, based on a belief that the edges are approximately…

《非随机缺失下的矩阵补全及其在因果面板模型中的应用》讨论AI 解读

Choi and Yuan (2025) propose a novel approach to applying matrix completion to the problem of estimating causal effects in panel data. The key insight is that even in the presence of structured patterns of missing data -- i.e. selection into treatment -- matrix completion can be effective if the number of treated observations is small relative to the number of control observations. We applaud the authors for their insightful and interesting paper. We discuss this proposal…

含子分层的复杂住户调查设计下基尼指数的渐近最优序贯置信区间AI 解读

We examine the optimality properties of the Gini index estimator under complex survey design involving stratification, clustering, and sub-stratification. While Darku et al. (Econometrics, 26, 2020) considered only stratification and clustering and did not provide theoretical guarantees, this study addresses these limitations by proposing two procedures - a purely sequential method and a two-stage method. Under suitable regularity conditions, we establish uniform continuity…

自适应实验因果推断的设计本位理论AI 解读

Adaptive designs dynamically update treatment probabilities using information accumulated during the experiment. Existing theory for causal inference from adaptive experiments primarily assumes the superpopulation framework with independent and identically distributed units, and may not apply when the distribution of units evolves over time. This paper makes two contributions. First, we extend the literature to the finite-population framework, which allows for possibly…

结合观察与随机数据的预算约束主动实验：处理效应估计AI 解读

Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects is central to data-driven decision-making, yet industrial applications often face a fundamental tension between limited randomized controlled trial (RCT) budgets and abundant but biased observational data collected under historical targeting policies. Although observational logs offer the advantage of scale, they inherently suffer from severe policyinduced imbalance and overlap violations, rendering standalone estimation unreliable.…

纵向数据中协变量反馈、角色转换与潜在特质的联合层级建模AI 解读

Time-varying covariates in longitudinal studies frequently evolve through reciprocal feedback, undergo role reversal, and reflect unobserved individual heterogeneity. Standard statistical frameworks often assume fixed covariate roles and exogenous predictors, limiting their utility in systems governed by dynamic behavioral or physiological processes. We develop a hierarchical joint modeling framework that unifies three key features of such systems: (i) bidirectional feedback…

可行的数据融合：结构性非重叠下的约束联合估计AI 解读

Causal inference in modern largescale systems faces growing challenges, including highdimensional covariates, multi-valued treatments, massive observational (OBS) data, and limited randomized controlled trial (RCT) samples due to cost constraints. We formalize treatment-induced structural non-overlap and show that, under this regime, commonly used weighted fusion methods provably fail to satisfy randomized identifying restrictions.To address this issue,we propose a…

使用三结果检验检验部分可识别的因果命题AI 解读

We consider hypothesis testing of binary causal queries using observational data. Since the mapping of causal models to the observational distribution that they induce is not one-to-one, in general, causal queries are often only partially identifiable. When binary statistical tests are used for testing partially-identifiable causal queries, their results do not translate in a straightforward manner to the causal hypothesis testing problem. We propose using ternary…

交替处理实验中的随机化检验AI 解读

Switchback experiments assign an experimental unit, such as a market or a platform, to treatment or control over successive blocks of time. Inference can be challenging because these experiments often contain only a small number of randomized blocks, while outcomes may exhibit serial dependence, seasonality, and treatment effects that persist across periods. We develop a conditional randomization test for the null of no total treatment effect that is finite-sample valid…