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Main Authors: Shi, Junming, Zhang, Wenxin, Hubbard, Alan E., van der Laan, Mark
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.05607
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author Shi, Junming
Zhang, Wenxin
Hubbard, Alan E.
van der Laan, Mark
author_facet Shi, Junming
Zhang, Wenxin
Hubbard, Alan E.
van der Laan, Mark
contents Estimating and obtaining reliable inference for the marginally adjusted causal dose-response curve for continuous treatments without relying on parametric assumptions is a well-known statistical challenge. Parametric models risk introducing significant bias through model misspecification, compromising the accurate representation of the underlying data and dose-response relationship. On the other hand, nonparametric models face difficulties as the dose-response curve is not pathwise differentiable, preventing consistent estimation at standard rates. The Highly Adaptive Lasso (HAL) maximum likelihood estimator offers a promising approach to this issue. In this paper, we introduce a HAL-based plug-in estimator for the causal dose-response curve, bridge theoretical development and empirical application, and assess its empirical performance against other estimators. This work emphasizes not just theoretical proofs, but also demonstrates their application through comprehensive simulations, thereby filling an essential gap between theory and practice. Our comprehensive simulations demonstrate that the HAL-based estimator achieves pointwise asymptotic normality with valid inference and consistently outperforms existing approaches for estimating the causal dose-response curve.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_05607
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle HAL-Based Plug-in Estimation with Pointwise Asymptotic Normality of the Causal Dose-Response Curve
Shi, Junming
Zhang, Wenxin
Hubbard, Alan E.
van der Laan, Mark
Methodology
Applications
Estimating and obtaining reliable inference for the marginally adjusted causal dose-response curve for continuous treatments without relying on parametric assumptions is a well-known statistical challenge. Parametric models risk introducing significant bias through model misspecification, compromising the accurate representation of the underlying data and dose-response relationship. On the other hand, nonparametric models face difficulties as the dose-response curve is not pathwise differentiable, preventing consistent estimation at standard rates. The Highly Adaptive Lasso (HAL) maximum likelihood estimator offers a promising approach to this issue. In this paper, we introduce a HAL-based plug-in estimator for the causal dose-response curve, bridge theoretical development and empirical application, and assess its empirical performance against other estimators. This work emphasizes not just theoretical proofs, but also demonstrates their application through comprehensive simulations, thereby filling an essential gap between theory and practice. Our comprehensive simulations demonstrate that the HAL-based estimator achieves pointwise asymptotic normality with valid inference and consistently outperforms existing approaches for estimating the causal dose-response curve.
title HAL-Based Plug-in Estimation with Pointwise Asymptotic Normality of the Causal Dose-Response Curve
topic Methodology
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.05607