PCM Selector: Penalized Covariate-Mediator Selection Operator for Evaluating Linear Causal Effects

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nanmo, Hisayoshi, Kuroki, Manabu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Nanmo, Hisayoshi
Kuroki, Manabu
author_facet Nanmo, Hisayoshi
Kuroki, Manabu
contents For a data-generating process for random variables that can be described with a linear structural equation model, we consider a situation in which (i) a set of covariates satisfying the back-door criterion cannot be observed or (ii) such a set can be observed, but standard statistical estimation methods cannot be applied to estimate causal effects because of multicollinearity/high-dimensional data problems. We propose a novel two-stage penalized regression approach, the penalized covariate-mediator selection operator (PCM Selector), to estimate the causal effects in such scenarios. Unlike existing penalized regression analyses, when a set of intermediate variables is available, PCM Selector provides a consistent or less biased estimator of the causal effect. In addition, PCM Selector provides a variable selection procedure for intermediate variables to obtain better estimation accuracy of the causal effects than does the back-door criterion.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_18180
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle PCM Selector: Penalized Covariate-Mediator Selection Operator for Evaluating Linear Causal Effects
Nanmo, Hisayoshi
Kuroki, Manabu
Methodology
Machine Learning
For a data-generating process for random variables that can be described with a linear structural equation model, we consider a situation in which (i) a set of covariates satisfying the back-door criterion cannot be observed or (ii) such a set can be observed, but standard statistical estimation methods cannot be applied to estimate causal effects because of multicollinearity/high-dimensional data problems. We propose a novel two-stage penalized regression approach, the penalized covariate-mediator selection operator (PCM Selector), to estimate the causal effects in such scenarios. Unlike existing penalized regression analyses, when a set of intermediate variables is available, PCM Selector provides a consistent or less biased estimator of the causal effect. In addition, PCM Selector provides a variable selection procedure for intermediate variables to obtain better estimation accuracy of the causal effects than does the back-door criterion.
title PCM Selector: Penalized Covariate-Mediator Selection Operator for Evaluating Linear Causal Effects
topic Methodology
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.18180