Potential Outcome and Directed Acyclic Graph Approaches to Causality: Relevance for Empirical Practice in Economics
In this essay I discuss potential outcome and graphical approaches to causality, and their relevance for empirical work in economics. I review some of the work on directed acyclic graphs, including the recent “The Book of Why,” ([Pearl and Mackenzie, 2018]). I also discuss the potential outcome framework developed by Rubin and coauthors, building on work by Neyman. I then discuss the relative merits of these approaches for empirical work in economics, focusing on the questions each answer well, and why much of the work in economics is closer in spirit to the potential outcome framework.
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Copy CitationGuido Imbens, "Potential Outcome and Directed Acyclic Graph Approaches to Causality: Relevance for Empirical Practice in Economics," NBER Working Paper 26104 (2019), https://doi.org/10.3386/w26104.Download Citation
Published Versions
Guido W. Imbens, 2020. "Potential Outcome and Directed Acyclic Graph Approaches to Causality: Relevance for Empirical Practice in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1129-1179, December. citation courtesy of 
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