Originating in econometrics and statistics, the counterfactual model provides a natural framework for clarifying the requirements for valid causal inference in the social sciences. This article presents the basic potential outcomes model and discusses the main approaches to identification in...

This paper studies the intergenerational effects of parental unemployment on students' transitions after completing upper secondary education. Besides estimating the average treatment effect of parental unemployment on transition outcomes, we also aim to identify the economic, psychological or...

This paper examines how parental unemployment affects the transition to postsecondary education in different institutional contexts. Drawing on theoretical perspectives in intergenerational mobility research and sociology of higher education, we estimate the extent to which these...

Job search models offer two complementary predictions about the effects of unemployment benefits on job search outcomes among unemployed workers. By raising workers reservation wages, unemployment benefits should contribute to both prolonged spell duration and improved post-unemployment job...

Propensity score matching provides an estimate of the effect of a treatment variable on an outcome variable that is largely free of bias arising from an association between treatment status and observable variables. However, matching methods are not robust against hidden bias arising from...

Economic job search theory offers two complementary predictions about the effects of unemployment benefits on job search outcomes among unemployed workers. By raising workers reservation wages, unemployment benefits should contribute to both prolonged spell duration and improved...