The subject of this paper is the elucidation of effects of actions from causal assumptions represented as a directed graph, and statistical knowledge given as a probability distribution. In particular, we are interested in predicting distributions on post-action outcomes given a set of measurements. We provide a necessary and sufficient graphical condition for the cases where such distributions can be uniquely computed from the available information, as well as an algorithm which performs this computation whenever the condition holds. Furthermore, we use our results to prove completeness of do-calculus [Pearl, 1995] for the same identification problem, and show applications to sequential decision making. 1

This paper is concerned with estimating the effects of actions from causal assumptions, represented concisely as a directed graph, and statistical knowledge, given as a probability distribution. We provide a necessary and sufficient graphical condition for the cases when the causal effect of an arbitrary set of variables on another arbitrary set can be determined uniquely from the available information, as well as an algorithm which computes the effect whenever this condition holds. Furthermore, we use our results to prove completeness of do-calculus [Pearl, 1995], and a version of an identification algorithm in [Tian, 2002] for the same identification problem.

ABSTRACT. The use of the concept of ‘direct ’ versus ‘indirect ’ causal effects is common, not only in statistics but also in many areas of social and economic sciences. The related terms of ‘biomarkers’ and ‘surrogates ’ are common in pharmacological and biomedical sciences. Sometimes this concept is represented by graphical displays of various kinds. The view here is that there is a great deal of imprecise discussion surroundingthis topic and, moreover, that the most straightforward way to clarify the situation is by usingpotential outcomes to define causal effects. In particular, I suggest that the use of principal stratification is key to understanding the meaning of direct and indirect causal effects. A current study of anthrax vaccine will be used to illustrate ideas.

Counterfactual quantities representing path-specific effects arise in cases where we are interested in computing the effect of one variable on another only along certain causal paths in the graph (in other words by excluding a set of edges from consideration). A recent paper [7] details a method by which such an exclusion can be specified formally by fixing the value of the parent node of each excluded edge. In this paper we derive simple, graphical conditions for experimental identifiability of path-specific effects, namely, conditions under which path-specific effects can be estimated consistently from data obtained from controlled experiments. 1

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Abstract: This review presents empirical researchers with recent advances in causal inference, and stresses the paradigmatic shifts that must be undertaken in moving from traditional statistical analysis to causal analysis of multivariate data. Special emphasis is placed on the assumptions that underly all causal inferences, the languages used in formulating those assumptions, the conditional nature of all causal and counterfactual claims, and the methods that have been developed for the assessment of such claims. These advances are illustrated using a general theory of causation based on the Structural Causal Model (SCM) described in Pearl (2000a), which subsumes and unifies other approaches to causation, and provides a coherent mathematical foundation for the analysis of causes and counterfactuals. In particular, the paper surveys the development of mathematical tools for inferring (from a combination of data and assumptions) answers to three types of causal queries: (1) queries about the effects of potential interventions, (also called “causal effects ” or “policy evaluation”) (2) queries about probabilities of counterfactuals, (including assessment of “regret, ” “attribution” or “causes of effects”) and (3) queries about direct and indirect effects (also known as “mediation”). Finally, the paper defines the formal and conceptual relationships between the structural and potential-outcome frameworks and presents tools for a symbiosis analysis that uses the strong features of both.

This paper aims at assisting empirical researchers benefit from recent advances in causal inference. The paper stresses the paradigmatic shifts that must be undertaken in moving from traditional statistical analysis to causal analysis of multivariate data. Special emphasis is placed on the assumptions that underly all causal inferences, the languages used in formulating those assumptions, and the conditional nature of causal claims inferred from nonexperimental studies. These emphases are illustrated through a brief survey of recent results, including the control of confounding, the assessment of causal effects, the interpretation of counterfactuals, and a symbiosis between counterfactual and graphical methods of analysis.

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We provide a formal definition of the notion of “transportability, ” or “external validity, ” which we view as a license to transfer causal information learned in experimental studies to a different environment, in which only observational studies can be conducted. We introduce a formal representation called “selection diagrams ” for expressing knowledge about differences and commonalities between populations of interest and, using this representation, we derive procedures for deciding whether causal effects in the target environment can be inferred from experimental findings in a different environment. When the answer is affirmative, the procedures identify the set of experimental and observational studies that need be conducted to license the transport. We further demonstrate how transportability analysis can guide the transfer of knowledge among non-experimental studies to minimize re-measurement cost and improve prediction power. We further provide a causally principled definition of “surrogate endpoint ” and show that the theory of transportability can assist the identification of valid surrogates in a complex network of cause-effect relationships. 1 Introduction: Threats

Summary. This paper considers the problem of estimating the average con-trolled direct effect (ACDE) of a treatment on an outcome, in the presence of unmeasured confounders between an intermediate variable and the outcome. Such confounders render the direct effect unidentifiable even in cases where the total effect is unconfounded (hence identifiable). Kaufman et al. (2005) applied a linear programming software to find the minimum and maximum possible values of the ACDE for specific numerical data. In this paper, we apply the symbolic Balke-Pearl (1997) linear programming method to derive closed-form formulas for the upper and lower bounds on the ACDE under various assumptions of monotonicity. These universal bounds enable clini-cal experimenters to assess the direct effect of treatment from observed data with minimum computational effort, and they further shed light on the sign of the direct effect and the accuracy of the assessments.