Economics, history, and causation
By: Randall Morck, Bernard Yeung
Contributors: Yeung, Bernard, 1953-; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 16678; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 16678.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "Economics and history both strive to understand causation: economics using instrumental variables econometrics and history by weighing the plausibility of alternative narratives.  Instrumental variables can lose value with repeated use because of an econometric tragedy of the commons bias: each successful use of an instrument potentially creates an additional latent variable bias problem for all other uses of that instrument - past and future.  Economists should therefore consider historians' approach to inferring causality from detailed context, the plausibility of alternative narratives, external consistency, and recognition that free will makes human decisions intrinsically exogenous"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 4/19/2011.

Includes bibliographical references.

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