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Mediation Analysis

Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

Abstract

Mediation analysis aims at evaluating the causal mechanisms through which a treatment or intervention affects an outcome of interest. The goal is to disentangle the total treatment effect into an indirect effect operating through one or several observed intermediate variables, the so-called mediators, as well as a direct effect reflecting any impact not captured by the observed mediator(s). This chapter reviews methodological advancements with a particular focus on applications in economics. It defines the parameters of interest, covers various identification strategies, for example, based on control variables or instruments, and presents sensitivity checks. Furthermore, it discusses several extensions of the standard mediation framework, such as multivalued treatments, mismeasured mediators, and outcome attrition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Martin Huber

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  1. Martin Huber
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Correspondence to Martin Huber .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. UNU-MERIT & Princeton University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

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  1. Department of Economics and management, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Enrico Rettore

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Huber, M. (2020). Mediation Analysis. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_162-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_162-1

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  1. Latest

    Mediation Analysis
    Published:
    20 October 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_162-2

  2. Original

    Mediation Analysis
    Published:
    07 September 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_162-1

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