Originating in econometrics and statistics, the counterfactual model provides a natural framework for clarifying the requirements for valid causal inference in the social sciences. This article presents the basic potential outcomes model and discusses the main approaches to identification in...

This paper explores the implications of possible bias cancellation using Rubin-style matching methods with complete and incomplete data. After reviewing the na?ve causal estimator and the approaches of Heckman and Rubin to the causal estimation problem, we show how missing data can complicate...

Publicly traded firms in the U.S. typically determine C.E.O. compensation by benchmarking the pay of their C.E.O.s against the pay of C.E.O.s in “peer” firms. The naming of particular peer companies by individual firms constitutes a supra-firm relational structure (network) in which an...

This paper explores the implications of possible bias cancellation using Rubin-style matching methods with complete and incomplete data. After reviewing the naı̈ve causal estimator and the approaches of Heckman and Rubin to the causal estimation problem, we show how missing data can complicate...

The disclosure of compensation peer groups is argued to provide shareholders with valuable information that can be used to scrutinize CEO compensation. However, research suggests that there are substantial incentives for executives and directors to bias the compensation peer group such that the...

The extent and causes of trends and cross-national variation in social class and occupational status mobility have been major topics of sociological research for decades. This topic has acquired renewed salience as inequality in many industrialized countries has increased and as improvements in...