A Generalized Back-Door Criterion for Linear Regression

Abstract: What assumptions about the data-generating process are required to permit a causal interpretation of partial regression coefficients? To answer this question, this paper generalizes Pearl's single-door and back-door criteria and proposes a new criterion, which enables the identification of total or partial causal effects. In addition, this paper elucidates the mechanism of post-treatment bias, showing that a repeated sequence of nodes can be a potential source of this bias. The results apply to linear data-generating processes represented by directed acyclic graphs with distribution-free error terms.