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Are outcome variables always bad controls? The case of mediating variables

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  • Qiang Chen
  • Ji Qi
  • Guanpeng Yan

Abstract

In an influential book, Angrist and Pischke (2009) claim that outcome variables are always bad controls. However, mediating variables are routinely included in the mediation analysis, despite their being outcome variables by definition. Angrist and Pischke (2009) demonstrate the potential issue of using outcome variables as controls by decomposing the estimand into a causal effect and a selection bias term. However, we show that the selection bias term vanishes under an exogeneity condition in the potential outcome framework and the regression framework. We also discuss a special type of outcome variable that is always a bad control, i.e. an outcome of the dependent variable.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiang Chen & Ji Qi & Guanpeng Yan, 2025. "Are outcome variables always bad controls? The case of mediating variables," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(14), pages 2066-2070, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:32:y:2025:i:14:p:2066-2070
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2024.2332533
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