Causal Models in the Social Sciences

ISBN-13: 9780202303147 / Angielski / Miękka / 1985 / 227 str.

Opis

Causal models are formal theories stating the relationships between precisely defined variables, and have become an indispensable tool of the social scientist. This book draws upon the best writing in a variety of fields to provide a comprehensive picture of contemporary work on this subject. This collection of articles stands alone as a course book on the causal modeling approach to theory construction and data analysis. There is a growing literature on causal models and structural systems of equations that crosscuts a number of different fields. However, much of this material remains widely scattered throughout the journal literature and varies considerably in terms of both level of difficulty and substantive application. This classic text by Blalock addresses and resolves this concern. The most systematic discussions of this general approach have appeared in the econometrics literature, where several general texts are available. However, many of these discussions are too technical for most sociologists, political scientists, scholars, and researchers who lack a strong background in mathematics. This book attempts to integrate a few of the less technical papers written by econometricians such as Koopmans, Wold, Strotz, and Fisher with discussions of causal approaches in the biological sciences and with relatively more exploratory treatments by sociologists and other social scientists.

Spis treści

I SIMPLE RECURSIVE MODELS AND PATH ANALYSIS 1 Spurious Correlation: A Causal Interpretation 2 Four-Variable Causal Models and Partial Correlations 3 Path Coefficients and Path Regressions: Alternative or Complementary Concepts? 4 Path Analysis: Sociological Examples 5 Causal Inferences, Closed Populations, and Measures of Association II SIMULTANEOUS-EQUATION TECHNIQUES 6 Identification Problems in Economic Model Construction 7 Recursive versus Nonrecursive Systems: An Attempt at Synthesis 8 The Application of a System of Simultaneous Equations to an Innovation Diffusion Model 9 The Choice of Instrumental Variables in the Estimation of Economy-Wide Econometric Models 10 Two Theorems on Ceteris Paribus in the Analysis of Dynamic Systems 11 Sensitivity Analysis of Arbitrarily Identified Simultaneous Equation Models III THE CAUSAL APPROACH TO MEASUREMENT ERROR AND AGGREGATION 12 Theory, Deduction, and Rules of Correspondence 13 Estimating the Parameters of Path Models Involving Unmeasured Variables 14 Multiple Indicator Models Using LISREL 15 Respecification in Multiple Indicator Models 16 Multiple Indicators and Complex Causal Models 17 Problems of Aggregation

O autorze

H.M. Blalock Jr.