title: Causal inference in economics and marketing.
abstract: This is an elementary introduction to causal inference in economics written for readers familiar with machine learning methods. The critical step in any causal analysis is estimating the counterfactual-a prediction of what would have happened in the absence of the treatment. The powerful techniques used in machine learning may be useful for developing better estimates of the counterfactual, potentially improving causal inference.
authors.affiliation: Economics Team, Google, Inc., Mountain View, CA 94043 hal@sims.berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Hal R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Varian
keywords: causal inference; economics; machine learning; marketing