Causality in Life Course Studies

PWP-CCPR-2014-018

Abstract

This chapter explores common methods of causal inference used in life course research. The central premise of life course research is the presumption that no period of life can be understood in isolation from prior experiences, as well as individual’s aspirations for the future. This chapter discusses the context of common causal inference methods as they relate to life course research, including regression, propensity score matching, instrumental variables, and fixed effects. We also discuss strategies for incorporating variation in response to treatment according to heterogeneity, time-variation, and mediation, important components to estimating effects over the life course with a causal framework. The chapter aims to explain the assumptions behind the methods we present, and includes some heuristic derivations to aid in intuitive explanations. We also provide examples of the methods discussed using constructed data with a known data generating process.