Book Image

Causal Inference and Discovery in Python

By : Aleksander Molak
4.7 (9)
Book Image

Causal Inference and Discovery in Python

4.7 (9)
By: Aleksander Molak

Overview of this book

Causal methods present unique challenges compared to traditional machine learning and statistics. Learning causality can be challenging, but it offers distinct advantages that elude a purely statistical mindset. Causal Inference and Discovery in Python helps you unlock the potential of causality. You’ll start with basic motivations behind causal thinking and a comprehensive introduction to Pearlian causal concepts, such as structural causal models, interventions, counterfactuals, and more. Each concept is accompanied by a theoretical explanation and a set of practical exercises with Python code. Next, you’ll dive into the world of causal effect estimation, consistently progressing towards modern machine learning methods. Step-by-step, you’ll discover Python causal ecosystem and harness the power of cutting-edge algorithms. You’ll further explore the mechanics of how “causes leave traces” and compare the main families of causal discovery algorithms. The final chapter gives you a broad outlook into the future of causal AI where we examine challenges and opportunities and provide you with a comprehensive list of resources to learn more. By the end of this book, you will be able to build your own models for causal inference and discovery using statistical and machine learning techniques as well as perform basic project assessment.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Causality – an Introduction
7
Part 2: Causal Inference
14
Part 3: Causal Discovery

Wrapping it up

Congrats on finishing Chapter 9!

We presented a lot of information in this chapter! Let’s summarize!

We started with the basics and introduced the matching estimator. On the way, we defined ATE, ATT, and ATC.

Then, we moved to propensity scores. We learned that propensity score is the probability of being treated, which we compute for each observation. Next, we’ve shown that although it might be tempting to use propensity scores for matching, in reality, it’s a risky idea. We said that propensity scores can shine in other scenarios, and we introduced propensity score weighting, which allows us to construct sub-populations and weight them accordingly in order to deconfound our data (it does not help when we have unobserved confounding).

Next, we started our journey with meta-learners. We said that ATE can sometimes hide important information from us and we defined CATE. This opened the door for us to explore the world of HTEs, where units...