Comment on Frameworks for Causal Inference

Rose compares three frameworks for causal inference: Potential Outcomes, DAGS, and Campbell’s Framework. I argue that Potential Outcomes is more appropriately thought of as a conceptual analysis of the notion of a causal effect and offer some objections to that analysis. I also contend that DAGS allow for a more precise definition of the concept of confounding variable than the one more typically seen in the social sciences. And I argue that what Rose regards as limitations of Potential Outcomes and DAGS aren’t really limitations. Both Potential Outcomes and DAGS were developed for certain purposes. Rose’s claim about limitations amounts to expecting each to do something it wasn’t designed to do.