Causality in Life Course Studies

Ravaris Moore, Jennie E. Brand

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

    Abstract

    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 causal inference methods as they relate to life course research, including regression, propensity score matching, instrumental variables, fixed effects, and quasi-experimental designs. We also discuss strategies for incorporating variation in response to treatment according to heterogeneity, time-variation, and mediation, which are 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 intuitive explanations. We also demonstrate the use of the methods discussed with an empirical example using constructed data with a known data generating process of the effects of exposure to violence on educational attainment.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Title of host publicationHandbooks of Sociology and Social Research
    PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media B.V.
    Pages515-539
    Number of pages25
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2016

    Publication series

    NameHandbooks of Sociology and Social Research
    ISSN (Print)1389-6903
    ISSN (Electronic)2542-839X

    Keywords

    • Causal inference
    • Counterfactuals
    • Fixed effects
    • Instrumental variables
    • Life course
    • Matching
    • Mediation analysis
    • Time-varying treatments

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Psychology (miscellaneous)
    • Social Psychology
    • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
    • Sociology and Political Science

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