arXiv:2504.02456cs.LGstat.ME2025-04

不估计因果效应也能有效排序干预优先级,关键在判断谁更易被影响。

The Amenability Framework: Rethinking Causal Ordering Without Estimating Causal Effects

  • 提出'可感性'框架,用潜在倾向替代因果效应来排序干预对象。
  • 实证表明预测模型在广告场景中比因果估计更优,排名准确率更高。
  • 适合资源有限、无法可靠估计因果效应的场景,如营销与用户留存。

在无法估计干预效果的现实场景(如广告投放、用户留存、行为引导)中,如何确定干预优先级?本文研究预测评分能否有效反映个体对干预的实际响应,尤其是在直接效应估计不可靠时。作者提出基于‘可感性’(amenability)的概念框架——即个体受干预影响的潜在倾向,并形式化了预测分数作为可感性代理的有效条件。这些条件表明,在无需直接估计因果效应的情况下,仍可使用非因果评分进行有效排序。进一步分析显示,在合理假设下,预测模型在按干预效果排序方面优于因果效应估计器。来自广告场景的实证结果支持这一结论,证明预测建模在目标定位上更具鲁棒性。该框架建议将重心从估计因果效应转向推断谁更易被影响,为资源受限环境下的干预优先级提供理论与实践基础。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Who should we prioritize for intervention when we cannot estimate intervention effects? In many applied domains (e.g., advertising, customer retention, and behavioral nudging) prioritization is guided by predictive models that estimate outcome probabilities rather than causal effects. This paper investigates when these predictions (scores) can effectively rank individuals by their intervention effects, particularly when direct effect estimation is infeasible or unreliable. We propose a conceptual framework based on amenability: an individual's latent proclivity to be influenced by an intervention. We then formalize conditions under which predictive scores serve as effective proxies for amenability. These conditions justify using non-causal scores for intervention prioritization, even when the scores do not directly estimate effects. We further show that, under plausible assumptions, predictive models can outperform causal effect estimators in ranking individuals by intervention effects. Empirical evidence from an advertising context supports our theoretical findings, demonstrating that predictive modeling can offer a more robust approach to targeting than effect estimation. Our framework suggests a shift in focus, from estimating effects to inferring who is amenable, as a practical and theoretically grounded strategy for prioritizing interventions in resource-constrained environments.

因果推断干预排序预测建模可感性

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