将时间序列数据转化为因果模型,实现对动态系统干预效果的准确评估。
A Practical Approach to Causal Inference over Time
- 基于向量自回归模型构建可处理循环依赖和混杂因素的因果框架。
- 在真实与合成数据上验证了预测性能与因果效应估计的高准确性。
- 适合研究经济、生态等动态系统中干预措施影响的从业者使用。
本文聚焦于估计干预对动态系统随时间演变的影响。我们正式定义了离散时间随机过程(DSP)上的因果干预及其效应。在特定条件下,证明了干预前后系统的平衡状态可由结构因果模型(SCM)刻画。基于此等价性,我们将广泛应用于计量经济学的向量自回归模型(VAR)显式映射为线性但可能含循环结构或未观测混杂因素的SCM。由此形成的因果VAR框架,使我们能够从观测时间序列数据中进行时序因果推断。在合成与真实世界数据集上的实验表明,该方法在观测预测方面表现优异,并能准确估计干预对动态系统的影响。通过案例研究,展示了该框架可解决的实际问题。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
In this paper, we focus on estimating the causal effect of an intervention over time on a dynamical system. To that end, we formally define causal interventions and their effects over time on discrete-time stochastic processes (DSPs). Then, we show under which conditions the equilibrium states of a DSP, both before and after a causal intervention, can be captured by a structural causal model (SCM). With such an equivalence at hand, we provide an explicit mapping from vector autoregressive models (VARs), broadly applied in econometrics, to linear, but potentially cyclic and/or affected by unmeasured confounders, SCMs. The resulting causal VAR framework allows us to perform causal inference over time from observational time series data. Our experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets show that the proposed framework achieves strong performance in terms of observational forecasting while enabling accurate estimation of the causal effect of interventions on dynamical systems. We demonstrate, through a case study, the potential practical questions that can be addressed using the proposed causal VAR framework.
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