Causal Inference and American Political Development: Contrasts and Complementarities

Publication Date

7-23-2019

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Political Science

Keywords

Causal inference, American political development (APD), Contrasts

Abstract

Causal inference and American political development (APD) are widely separated and (to some) fundamentally incompatible tendencies within political science. In this paper, we explore points of connection between those two perspectives, while also highlighting differences that are not so easily bridged. We stress that both causal inference and APD are centrally interested in questions of causation, but they approach causation with very different ontological and epistemological commitments. We emphasize how the sort of detailed, contextualized, and often qualitative knowledge privileged by APD can promote credible causal (and descriptive) inferences, but also that scholars of causal inference can benefit from alternate conceptions of causality embraced by APD work. We illustrate with two empirical examples from our own research: devising weights for quota-sampled opinion polls and estimating the political effects of the Tennessee Valley Authority. We conclude that bringing APD and causal inference together on more equal terms may require a broader perspective on causation than is typical of scholarship in the causal-inference tradition.

Copyright Date

7-23-2019

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Rights Holder

Springer

Provenance

Received from author

Language

English (eng)

Extent

18 pgs

Publication Statement

Copyright held by the publisher. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Publication Title

Public Choice

Volume

185

First Page

359

Last Page

376

ISSN

1573-7101

Link to Full Text

Find in Compass

Find in WorldCat

Share

COinS