CTRF combines logged data and randomized experiments for robust prediction.
problem Robust prediction models to handle distributional shifts between training and testing data.
method CTRF uses existing training data and a small amount of randomized experiment data to train a robust model.
result CTRF produces robust predictions and outperforms baseline methods in the presence of feature shifts.
Transfer learning for causal forest
problem Estimating CATE in a causal forest
method Offset method adapted to causal context
result Bound on CATE error
Many scientific and engineering challenges -- ranging from personalized medicine to customized marketing recommendations -- require an understanding of treatment effect heterogeneity. In this paper, we develop a non-parametric causal forest for estimating heterogeneous treatment effects that extends Breiman's widely us…
Method uses random forest with distance covariance for transfer learning in healthcare.
problem Transfer learning in random forests with sparse differences between source and target.
method Distance covariance-based feature weights in residual random forest.
result Upper bound on mean square error rate for transfer learning in RF.
New Random Forest variants estimate heterogeneous treatment effects using Wasserstein distances.
problem Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects in complex situations.
method Proposes natural variants of Random Forests using Wasserstein distances.
result Natural variants of Random Forests are well-suited for estimating conditional distributions.
Forest-based methods estimate heterogeneous treatment effects, blending strengths for better performance.
problem Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects in randomized and observational studies.
method Causal forests and model-based forests, blending strengths for better performance.
result Local centering of treatment indicator and propensities is crucial for good performance in randomized trials.
LILI clustering reduces bias in causal inference by grouping similar counterfactual outcomes.
problem Bias in causal inference from causal forest methods.
method LILI clustering algorithm integrates causal trees through leaf similarity.
result LILI clustering reduces bias and improves prediction accuracy for ATE.
New method quantifies variable importance in causal forests for treatment effect heterogeneity.
problem Lack of understanding how input variables affect treatment effect heterogeneity in causal forests.
method Developed a new importance variable algorithm for causal forests based on the drop and relearn principle.
result Shows how to handle forest retraining without a confounding variable and introduces a corrective term for confounders.
End-to-end policy learning method improves CATE estimation.
problem Learning optimal treatment policies from partially observed data.
method Modified causal forest for policy learning.
result Maximizing policy value is equivalent to minimizing CATE.
This paper develops a new method to model treatment effects that are heterogeneous across different quantiles.
problem Modeling treatment effects that vary across different quantiles of the outcome distribution.
method The paper combines quantile classification with local polynomial estimation to build a decision tree and forest.
result The proposed QLPRT and QLPRF methods provide a new way to estimate and infer heterogeneous treatment effects.
Automatic debiasing for causal and policy effects using Neural Nets and Random Forests.
problem Estimating causal and policy effects from high-dimensional or non-parametric regression functions.
method Automatic learning of Riesz representation using Neural Nets and Random Forests.
result Automatic debiasing method performs well compared to state-of-the-art algorithms.
The paper challenges the use of decision trees for pointwise inference due to slow convergence rates.
problem The slow convergence rates of decision trees in uniform norm, especially with non-vanishing probability.
method Demonstrates the limitations of adaptive recursive partitioning and shows how random forests can improve performance.
result Decision trees can fail to achieve polynomial rates of convergence in uniform norm, even with pruning.
Random forests are a powerful method for non-parametric regression, but are limited in their ability to fit smooth signals, and can show poor predictive performance in the presence of strong, smooth effects. Taking the perspective of random forests as an adaptive kernel method, we pair the forest kernel with a local li…
TLRF improves timely COVID-19 outbreak detection with small sample size counties.
problem Balancing accuracy and speed in estimating COVID-19 case growth rates.
method Transfer Learning Random Forest (TLRF) framework for growth rate estimation.
result TLRF outperforms existing methods in predicting case growth rates and timely outbreak detection.
Transfer learning improves causal model estimates in small samples.
problem Challenges in estimating individual treatment effects (ITE) from small datasets.
method Treatment Agnostic Representation Networks (TARNet) with transfer learning (TL-TARNet).
result Transfer learning reduces ITE error and bias in small samples.
New methods improve electricity load forecasting using hierarchical transfer learning.
problem Improving electricity load forecasts at national scale using smart meter data.
method Developed two hierarchical transfer learning methods based on stacking and aggregation of experts.
result Significant improvement in predictions compared to benchmark algorithms.
Generates synthetic manufacturing data for causal discovery benchmarking.
problem Lack of suitable real data for validating causal discovery algorithms.
method Distributional random forests for estimating conditional distributions.
result Semisynthetic manufacturing data adheres to a causal model.
We propose the orthogonal random forest, an algorithm that combines Neyman-orthogonality to reduce sensitivity with respect to estimation error of nuisance parameters with generalized random forests (Athey et al., 2017)--a flexible non-parametric method for statistical estimation of conditional moment models using rand…
Method finds counterfactual explanations for random forest models.
problem Limited interpretability of random forest models in regulated industries.
method Similarity learning exploiting random forest's feature representation.
result Generated explanations are sparser and more useful than Shapley values.
Causalfe estimates treatment effects in panel data with fixed effects.
problem Spurious heterogeneity in treatment effect estimates due to fixed effects in panel data.
method CFFE approach with node-level residualization during tree construction.
result Validates the estimator's performance through simulation studies.
New method targets relative risk heterogeneity in clinical trials.
problem Identifying treatment effects across subgroups with absolute risk differences.
method Modified causal forests using a novel node-splitting procedure based on relative risk.
result Relative risk causal forests can capture heterogeneity not detected by absolute risk methods.
Designs a framework to transfer causal models between similar environments.
problem Transferability of causal models between different but similar environments.
method Object-oriented representations and continuous optimization for structure learning.
result Demonstrates advantages in gridworld settings using reinforcement learning.
Develops a sparsity-inducing Bayesian Causal Forest for estimating heterogeneous treatment effects.
problem Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects using observational data with varying degrees of sparsity.
method Introduces a sparsity-inducing version of Bayesian Causal Forests with additional priors to adjust covariate weights.
result Improves adaptability to sparse data generating processes and uncovering moderating factors driving heterogeneity.
Calculates local Granger causality for Gaussian and nonlinear systems.
problem Understanding causal influence in complex systems.
method Vector autoregression and information-theoretic approach.
result Local Granger causality offers a robust and fast method for time-directed information transfer.
Ensembles of randomized decision trees, usually referred to as random forests, are widely used for classification and regression tasks in machine learning and statistics. Random forests achieve competitive predictive performance and are computationally efficient to train and test, making them excellent candidates for r…
Adaptive kernel approach learns causal effects from diverse data sources.
problem Learning causal effects from multiple, decentralized data sources in a federated setting.
method Adaptive transfer algorithm using Random Fourier Features to estimate similarities and disentangle loss function components.
result Empirically outperforms baselines on decentralized data sources with different distributions.
New random forest method provides optimal rates and confidence bands.
problem Improving random forest regression rates and constructing confidence bands.
method Proposed Ehrenfest centered purely random forests achieve optimal rates; used Gaussian approximation for supremum of empirical processes.
result Explicit asymptotic uniform confidence bands constructed for both random forest types.
Improved random forest proximities capture data geometry.
problem Inaccurate random forest proximities do not reflect learned data geometry.
method Introduce RF-GAP: Geometry- and Accuracy-Preserving proximities.
result RF-GAP improves geometric representation in tasks like data imputation.
Bayesian Causal Forest models estimate treatment effects with noncompliance.
problem Estimating treatment effects with noncompliance and varying compliance rates.
method Bayesian Causal Forest model for binary response variables.
result Flexibly estimate heterogeneous treatment effects among compliers.
New framework estimates demand responses across multiple contexts with limited price variation.
problem Estimating heterogeneous linear price-response functions across multiple contexts with limited price variation and confounding.
method Meta-learning framework that identifies conditional mean of task-specific causal demand parameters given a subset of task-specific observables.
result Improved recovery of demand responses relative to standard transfer-learning baselines.
A new method for causal inference in high-dimensional data using machine learning.
problem Causal inference in high-dimensional observational data.
method Support Points Sample Splitting (SPSS) for efficient double machine learning (DML) in causal inference.
result Deep learning with SPSS and hybrid methods outperform SVM with SPSS in computational efficiency and estimation quality.
New algorithms for causal bandits without knowing the graph structure.
problem Causal bandit problems with unknown graph structure.
method Developed novel causal bandit algorithms for causal trees, forests, and general graphs without prior knowledge of the causal graph.
result Regret guarantees significantly improved over standard MAB algorithms under mild conditions.
We propose random hinge forests, a simple, efficient, and novel variant of decision forests. Importantly, random hinge forests can be readily incorporated as a general component within arbitrary computation graphs that are optimized end-to-end with stochastic gradient descent or variants thereof. We derive random hinge…
Random forests reduce bias and variance, especially in low SNR settings.
problem Reducing bias and variance in machine learning models, particularly in low SNR scenarios.
method Empirical study of random forests and bagging ensembles, focusing on the importance of mtry tuning. result Random forests reduce both bias and variance, outperforming bagging ensembles in high SNR settings.
DiD-BCF model improves causal inference in panel data with robust non-parametric methods.
problem Challenges in Difference-in-Differences (DiD) estimation, especially heterogeneous treatment effects and non-linearities.
method Difference-in-Differences Bayesian Causal Forest (DiD-BCF) with PTA-based reparameterization.
result DiD-BCF provides superior performance and uncovers significant heterogeneity in treatment effects.
Improved random forest models enhance machine learning predictions.
problem Equal weights for random forest base decision trees are not optimal.
method Proposes algorithms to modify weighting strategy of regular random forest.
result Numerical results show significant improvements over regular random forest.
Enhances random forest consistency and introduces DMRF for improved performance.
problem Improving the consistency and efficiency of random forest algorithms.
method Strengthened proof methods and propose DMRF algorithm.
result DMRF achieves better theoretical and experimental performance than previous variants.
New random forest variants achieve optimal performance in high dimensions.
problem Handling dependencies between features in high-dimensional data.
method Using oblique splits in random forests with general split directions.
result Achieved minimax optimal convergence rates in arbitrary dimension.
This paper is a comment on the survey paper by Biau and Scornet (2016) about random forests. We focus on the problem of quantifying the impact of each ingredient of random forests on their performance. We show that such a quantification is possible for a simple pure forest , leading to conclusions that could apply more…
RFpredInterval package builds prediction intervals for random forests and boosted forests.
problem Quantifying uncertainty in random forest and boosted forest point predictions.
method 16 methods to build prediction intervals with random forests and boosted forests.
result The proposed method outperforms existing methods in building prediction intervals.
Forest-based methods have recently gained in popularity for non-parametric treatment effect estimation. Building on this line of work, we introduce causal survival forests, which can be used to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects in a survival and observational setting where outcomes may be right-censored. Our app…
Uncovering the heterogeneity of causal effects of policies and business decisions at various levels of granularity provides substantial value to decision makers. This paper develops new estimation and inference procedures for multiple treatment models in a selection-on-observables framework by modifying the Causal Fore…
Develops variable-lag Granger causality and Transfer Entropy for time series analysis.
problem Fixed time delay assumption in Granger causality and Transfer Entropy does not hold in many applications.
method Variable-lag Granger causality and Transfer Entropy, using optimal warping path of Dynamic Time Warping (DTW).
result Proposed methods perform better than existing methods in both simulated and real-world datasets.
Enhances random forest performance with exogenous randomness.
problem Improving random forest performance through exogenous randomness.
method Developed non-asymptotic MSE expansions for individual trees and forests, identified two types of randomness, and conducted simulations.
result Exogenous randomness, particularly feature subsampling, reduces both bias and variance of random forests.
A faster method for estimating effects in large data using fixed-point trees.
problem Estimating heterogeneous effects in large dimensions with computational efficiency.
method Fixed-point approximation to eliminate Jacobian estimation and speed up GRFs.
result Significant computational efficiency improvement without sacrificing statistical accuracy.
New algorithm improves efficiency of Bayesian Causal Forest for subgroup analysis.
problem Estimating heterogeneous effects in subgroup analysis.
method Developed a novel algorithm for fitting Bayesian Causal Forest (BCF) model, more efficient than Gibbs sampler.
result New algorithm improves posterior exploration and coverage of interval estimates.
BCF models estimate causal effects on multiple outcomes in TIMSS data.
problem Estimating causal effects on multiple outcomes in educational data.
method Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) for multivariate causal inference.
result Positive and negative effects of home study conditions and school absence on student achievement.
Study improves maize yield prediction using BNs with mixed-effects models.
problem Limited causal inference in agronomic data models.
method Integrates random effects into Bayesian networks, leveraging hierarchical data structure.
result Significantly reduces maize yield prediction error from 28% to 17%.