Donald Rubin
Encyclopedia
Donald Bruce Rubin is the John L. Loeb Professor of Statistics
at Harvard University
. He was hired by Harvard in 1984, and served as chair of the department from 1985-1994.
He is most well known for the Rubin Causal Model
, a set of methods designed for causal inference
with observational data, and for his methods for dealing with missing data.
PhD
program where he was one of a cohort of 20 students mentored by the physicist
John Wheeler
(the intention of the program was to confirm degrees within 5 years of freshman
matriculation
). He switched to psychology
and graduated in 1965. He began graduate school in psychology at Harvard with a National Science Foundation
fellowship, but because his statistics background was considered insufficient, he was asked to take introductory statistics courses. Rubin felt insulted by this given his background in physics, so he decided to transfer to applied math, as he says in the introduction to Matched Sampling for Causal Effects.
He received his AM in applied math in 1966, and spent the summer consulting for Princeton sociologist Robert Althauser on comparing the achievement of white and black students, where he first used a matching method .
Rubin became a PhD student again, this time in Statistics under William Cochran
at the Harvard Statistics Department. After graduating from Harvard in 1970, he began working at the Educational Testing Service
in 1971, and served as a visiting faculty member at Princeton
's new statistics department. He published his major papers on the Rubin Causal Model in 1974-1980, and a textbook on the subject with econometrician Guido Imbens was expected to be published in 2010.
Rubin later moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, the University of Chicago
, and Harvard.
The assignment mechanism is the explanation for why some units received the treatment and others the control.
In observational data, there is a non-random assignment mechanism: in the case of college attendance, people may choose to attend a private versus a public college based on their financial situation, parents' education, relative ranks of the schools they were admitted to, etc. If all of these factors can be balanced between the two groups of public and private college students, then in Rubin's model the effect of college attendance can be attributed to the college choice.
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He was hired by Harvard in 1984, and served as chair of the department from 1985-1994.
He is most well known for the Rubin Causal Model
Rubin Causal Model
The Rubin Causal Model is an approach to the statistical analysis of cause and effect based on the framework of potential outcomes. RCM is named after Donald Rubin, Professor of Statistics at Harvard University...
, a set of methods designed for causal inference
Inference
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
with observational data, and for his methods for dealing with missing data.
Chronology
As an undergraduate Rubin attended the accelerated Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
program where he was one of a cohort of 20 students mentored by the physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
John Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission...
(the intention of the program was to confirm degrees within 5 years of freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
). He switched to psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and graduated in 1965. He began graduate school in psychology at Harvard with a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
fellowship, but because his statistics background was considered insufficient, he was asked to take introductory statistics courses. Rubin felt insulted by this given his background in physics, so he decided to transfer to applied math, as he says in the introduction to Matched Sampling for Causal Effects.
He received his AM in applied math in 1966, and spent the summer consulting for Princeton sociologist Robert Althauser on comparing the achievement of white and black students, where he first used a matching method .
Rubin became a PhD student again, this time in Statistics under William Cochran
William Gemmell Cochran
William Gemmell Cochran was a prominent statistician; he was born in Scotland but spent most of his life in the United States....
at the Harvard Statistics Department. After graduating from Harvard in 1970, he began working at the Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
in 1971, and served as a visiting faculty member at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's new statistics department. He published his major papers on the Rubin Causal Model in 1974-1980, and a textbook on the subject with econometrician Guido Imbens was expected to be published in 2010.
Rubin later moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and Harvard.
Rubin Causal Model
The Rubin Causal Model is based on the idea of potential outcomes and the assignment mechanism: every unit has different potential outcomes depending on their "assignment" to a condition. For instance, someone may have one income at age 40 if they attend a private college and a different income at age 40 if they attend a public college; to measure the causal effect of going to a public versus a private college, the investigator should look at the outcome for the same individual in both alternative futures. It is obviously impossible to see both potential outcomes at once, and one of the potential outcomes is always missing. A randomized experiment works by assigning people randomly to (in this case) public or private college; because the assignment was random, the groups are (on average) equivalent, and the difference in income at age 40 can be attributed to the college assignment since that was the only difference between the groups.The assignment mechanism is the explanation for why some units received the treatment and others the control.
In observational data, there is a non-random assignment mechanism: in the case of college attendance, people may choose to attend a private versus a public college based on their financial situation, parents' education, relative ranks of the schools they were admitted to, etc. If all of these factors can be balanced between the two groups of public and private college students, then in Rubin's model the effect of college attendance can be attributed to the college choice.