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Causation and Its Discontents

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Causal Analysis in Population Studies

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 23))

It is impossible to escape the impression that population scientists commonly use false standards in adducing causation – that they seek to make claims about the power of their research in elucidating cause and effect and admire similar claims in others, and that they mis-estimate the true values of important causal parameters. And yet, in making any general judgment of this sort, we are in danger of forgetting how variegated the human population and the mental constructs associated with its apprehension are.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Herbert L. Smith

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  1. Herbert L. Smith
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Correspondence to Herbert L. Smith .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Bamberg LS for Bevölkerungswissenschaft, Lichtenhaidestr.11 D, 96045 Bamberg, Germany

    Henriette Engelhardt

  2. Dept. Sociology Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

    Hans-Peter Kohler

  3. Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Inst. Demographie, Wohllebengasse 12-14, 1040 Wien, Austria

    Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz

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Smith, H.L. (2009). Causation and Its Discontents. In: Engelhardt, H., Kohler, HP., Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, A. (eds) Causal Analysis in Population Studies. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9967-0_10

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