Nonparametric efficient inference for network quantile causal effects under partial interference

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cheng, Chao, Li, Fan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Cheng, Chao
Li, Fan
author_facet Cheng, Chao
Li, Fan
contents Interference arises when the treatment assigned to one individual affects the outcomes of other individuals. Commonly, individuals are naturally grouped into clusters, and interference occurs only among individuals within the same cluster, a setting referred to as partial interference. We study network causal effects on outcome quantiles in the presence of partial interference. We develop a general nonparametric efficiency theory for estimating these network quantile causal effects, which leads to a nonparametrically efficient estimator. The proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal with parametric convergence rates, while allowing for flexible, data-adaptive estimation of complex nuisance functions. We leverage a three-way cross-fitting procedure that avoids direct estimation of the conditional outcome distribution. Simulations demonstrate adequate finite-sample performance of the proposed estimators, and we apply the methods to a clustered observational study.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_13008
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Nonparametric efficient inference for network quantile causal effects under partial interference
Cheng, Chao
Li, Fan
Methodology
Applications
Machine Learning
Interference arises when the treatment assigned to one individual affects the outcomes of other individuals. Commonly, individuals are naturally grouped into clusters, and interference occurs only among individuals within the same cluster, a setting referred to as partial interference. We study network causal effects on outcome quantiles in the presence of partial interference. We develop a general nonparametric efficiency theory for estimating these network quantile causal effects, which leads to a nonparametrically efficient estimator. The proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal with parametric convergence rates, while allowing for flexible, data-adaptive estimation of complex nuisance functions. We leverage a three-way cross-fitting procedure that avoids direct estimation of the conditional outcome distribution. Simulations demonstrate adequate finite-sample performance of the proposed estimators, and we apply the methods to a clustered observational study.
title Nonparametric efficient inference for network quantile causal effects under partial interference
topic Methodology
Applications
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13008