A0224
Title: Causal inference with a functional outcome
Authors: Kreske Ecker - Umea University (Sweden) [presenting]
Xavier de Luna - Umea University (Sweden)
Lina Schelin - Umea University (Sweden)
Abstract: Methods are presented to study the causal effect of a binary treatment on a functional outcome with observational data. We define a functional causal parameter, the Functional Average Treatment Effect (FATE), and propose a semi-parametric outcome regression estimator. Quantifying the uncertainty in this estimation presents a challenge since existing inferential techniques developed for univariate outcomes cannot satisfactorily address the multiple comparison problems induced by the functional nature of the causal parameter. We show how to obtain valid inferences on the FATE using simultaneous confidence bands, which cover the FATE with a given probability over the entire domain. Simulation experiments illustrate the empirical coverage of the simultaneous confidence bands in finite samples. Finally, we use the methods to infer the effect of early adult location on subsequent income development for one Swedish birth cohort.
