1. Introduction -- Causal theorizing and problem formulation -- Causal data analysis -- The notion of causality -- Definitions and notation -- 2. The work of Simon and Blalock -- Simon and spurious correlation -- The Simon-Blalock technique -- The basic technique -- Assumptions of the Simon-Blalock technique -- Cost/benefit analysis of the Simon/Blalock technique -- 3. Recursive and nonrecursive path estimation -- Recursive path analysis -- Obtaining the path estimates -- Advantages of path analysis -- Substantive applications of path analysis -- The formal interpretation of path coefficient -- Overidentification in recursive models -- Additional problems in path analysis -- Identification and nonrecursive estimation -- An intuitive look at identification -- Identification in recursive systems -- Identification in nonrecursive systems -- Nonrecursive estimation and levels of identification -- An example of an overidentified nonrecursive model -- Summary -- 4. Some additional concerns -- Measurement error -- Some current developments relevant to causal analysis -- Conclusion
