Workshops
Background Explanation about Causal Inference in Economics
I wrote my book, Causal Inference: the Mixtape, and teach online and in-person workshops to "democratize causal inference" because I believe it's crucial that everyone working with data understands it. But that’s not the full story of why I hold these workshops. I’m passionate about making causal inference accessible because the version that came to dominate economics — and has influenced other fields — emerged from a fusion between Princeton’s Industrial Relations Section in the 1970s and 1980s, and statisticians and econometricians at Harvard from the 1970s through the 1990s. The image below illustrates this fusion, and I’ve written at length about it on my Substack, but this chart more or less captures what I mean.
What matters to me is that there’s no singular "causal inference." There are paradigms. The one many associate with the term is based on natural experiments and the Rubin causal model.
But why emphasize this? Because the version of causal inference that became dominant, largely through a group of labor economists at Princeton and a Harvard statistician named Don Rubin, took on a particular flavor that often sidestepped econometrics. You’d find it in textbooks, but often in the back, and in only brief sketches.
This matters. It matters because this paradigm skipped the normal channels of training. Historically, you learned it if you happened to be in a specific school, in a specific department, in a specific city, studying under a specific professor with a lineage back to this source.
But our fields are diverse. Not all labor economists come from Princeton or MIT! And not all social sciences are economics. Not all quantitative methods are design-based. Many people are hungry to learn this material, and yet access to it remains unequal across fields and departments. That’s why everything I do — the book, the Substack, the podcast interviews, the workshops — is about widening access and making this knowledge available to as many people as possible.
Now, let me tell you a little more about these workshops, which, apart from the book, offer people a chance to dive into this material.
Mixtape Sessions
The primary way I address inequities in access to causal inference is through Mixtape Sessions. Mixtape Sessions offers online, affordable workshops on causal inference and related methodologies. These workshops are taught by me and occasionally by others I invite, such as Peter Hull (Brown), Jon Roth (Brown), Alberto Abadie (MIT), Rocio Titunik (Princeton), Brigham Frandsen (BYU), and more. Each workshop includes coding exercises, slides, simulations, and recordings that registered participants can revisit at their own pace. These recordings are exclusive to participants; they aren’t for sale. The full price for a workshop is $595, and those who pay full price can request one-on-one “office hours” with me to discuss their projects.
Given the mission of Mixtape Sessions to break down barriers and make this material accessible globally, I offer significant discounts based on location and career stage. If you’re a resident of a resident of one of these listed low income countries or India, or India, the workshop fee is just $1 USD. For students, predocs, postdocs, residents of middle-income countries, or those currently unemployed, the fee is $50 USD. Non-tenure track lecturers or those with a high teaching load qualify for a $95 discount, regardless of tenure status.
Personalized workshops (in person or over Zoom)
Departments, agencies, and firms often prefer that I come to them, either in person or over Zoom. I’ve led dozens of these workshops worldwide for all kinds of groups—economics and non-economics departments, academic and non-academic agencies, non-profits, and for-profit organizations. You name it, I’ve likely done a workshop for that type of audience. Past workshops have been held at institutions and companies like eBay, Twitch, the University of Copenhagen, the London School of Economics, Facebook, Manifold, Papa Johns, Oxford University, and many more.
If you’re interested in a personalized workshop, feel free to email me directly. I can provide previous syllabi, course descriptions, and discuss scheduling and pricing.