Causal Inference in Accounting Research
Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 54, No. 2, 2016
Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Working Paper No. 217
Stanford University Graduate School of Business Research Paper No. 16-16
64 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2016 Last revised: 29 Jun 2016
There are 2 versions of this paper
Causal Inference in Accounting Research
Causal Inference in Accounting Research
Date Written: May 2016
Abstract
This paper examines the approaches accounting researchers use to draw causal inferences using observational (or non-experimental) data. The vast majority of accounting research papers draw causal inferences notwithstanding the well-known difficulties in doing so. While some recent papers seek to use quasi-experimental methods to improve causal inferences, these methods also make strong assumptions that are not always fully appreciated. We believe that accounting research would benefit from: more in-depth descriptive research, including a greater focus on the study of causal mechanisms (or causal pathways); increased emphasis on structural modeling of the phenomena of interest. We argue these changes offer a practical path forward for rigorous accounting research.
Keywords: accounting research, causal inferences, study of causal mechanisms, study of causal pathways, econometrics
JEL Classification: C20, C30, M20, M40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation