Oswald, Andrew J. (2007) Commentary : human well-being and causality in social epidemiology. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36 (6). pp. 1253-1254. doi:10.1093/ije/dym190

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Abstract

Economists have much to learn from social epidemiologists. But perhaps economists can teach epidemiologists some useful things.

My profession is not alone in being obsessed with cause and effect. Economists teach students from their first university term about identification theory, instrumental variables, and why classical ordinary least squares regression equations will produce the wrong answers if some of the independent variables are endogenously determined. An oft-used example is in equations where the dependent variable is people's rates of pay and one of the independent variables is their level of education. Education is endogenous––chosen by the person. So we teach our students not to read off the coefficient on education in a wage equation and claim that that measures the size of the causal effect.

Item Type:	Journal Item
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Epidemiology
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0300-5771
Official Date:	December 2007
Dates:	Date Event December 2007 Published
Volume:	36
Number:	6
Number of Pages:	2
Page Range:	pp. 1253-1254
DOI:	10.1093/ije/dym190
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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