This paper explores the implications of possible bias cancellation using Rubin-style matching methods with complete and incomplete data. After reviewing the naı̈ve causal estimator and the approaches of Heckman and Rubin to the causal estimation problem, we show how missing data can complicate...

Randomised controlled or clinical trials (RCTs) are generally viewed as the most reliable method to draw causal inference as to the effects of a treatment, as they should guarantee that the individuals being compared differ only in terms of their exposure to the treatment of interest. This...

We investigate identification of causal parameters in case-control and related studies. The odds ratio in the sample is our main estimand of interest and we articulate its relationship with causal parameters under various scenarios. It turns out that the odds ratio is generally a sharp upper...

As I document using evidence from a journal data repository that I manage, the datasets used in empirical work are getting larger. When we use very large datasets, it can be dangerous to rely on standard methods for statistical inference. In addition, we need to worry about computational issues....