Cited by 485Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesPolitical Science Research and EducationSpatial and Panel Data Analysis

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The Phantom Menace: Omitted Variable Bias in Econometric Research

Clarke, Kevin A.·2005·Conflict Management and Peace Science

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Abstract

Quantitative political science is awash in control variables. The justification for these bloated specifications is usually the fear of omitted variable bias. A key underlying assumption is that the danger posed by omitted variable bias can be ameliorated by the inclusion of relevant control variables. Unfortunately, as this article demonstrates, there is nothing in the mathematics of regression analysis that supports this conclusion. The inclusion of additional control variables may increase or decrease the bias, and we cannot know for sure which is the case in any particular situation. A brief discussion of alternative strategies for achieving experimental control follows the main result.

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Aysolmaz, B., İren, D., & Dau, N. (2020) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2020.648 · Cited by 22
“tells us that excluding a variable is insufficient to avoid discrimination as any remaining variables that correlate with the excluded variable still contain information about the excluded variable [39].”
Background
Innovation matters: creative environment, absenteeism, and job satisfaction
Mayfield, M. R., Mayfield, J. R., & Kathy, Q. (2020) · Journal of Organizational Change Management · doi:10.1108/jocm-09-2019-0285 · Cited by 23
Political Survival and Sovereignty in International Relations
Savage, J. D. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108658461 · Cited by 23
Republicans, Catholics and the West: Explaining the Strength of Religious School Aid Prohibitions
Hackett, U. (2013) · Politics and Religion · doi:10.1017/s1755048313000242 · Cited by 20
“Clarke’s trenchant criticisms of the inclusion of excessive controls to forestall omitted variable bias (Clarke 2005) are relevant here because the broad historical spread necessitates selection of only a limited number of all potential control variables for inclusion in the model.”
Background
Adverse working conditions and immigrants’ physical health and depression outcomes: a longitudinal study in Greece
Drydakis, N. (2021) · International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health · doi:10.1007/s00420-021-01757-0 · Cited by 25
Econometrics and archival data: Reflections for purchasing and supply management (PSM) research
Miller, J. W., & Kulpa, T. (2022) · Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management · doi:10.1016/j.pursup.2022.100780 · Cited by 22
The Difference Between Causal Analysis and Predictive Models: Response to “Comment on Young and Holsteen (2017)”
Young, C. (2018) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124118782542 · Cited by 19
The Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements: Methodology, timing, and network effects
Vollenweider, J. (2012) · Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) · doi:10.3929/ethz-a-007557355 · Cited by 20
Machine Learning for Asset Managers
de Prado, M. L. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108883658 · Cited by 32
Gendered preferences: How women’s inclusion in society shapes negotiation occurrence in intrastate conflicts
Nagel, R. U. (2020) · Journal of Peace Research · doi:10.1177/0022343319899456 · Cited by 19
Survivorship Bias in Comparative Politics: Endogenous Sovereignty and the Resource Curse
Waldner, D., & Smith, B. B. (2020) · Perspectives on Politics · doi:10.1017/s1537592720003497 · Cited by 20
The spatial contagion of international mediation
Böhmelt, T. (2014) · Conflict Management and Peace Science · doi:10.1177/0738894214544615 · Cited by 18
“First, Clarke (2005) shows that the inclusion of control variables may actually increase the bias instead of decreasing it.”
Background
Weekend Effect on in-Hospital Mortality for Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke in US Rural and Urban Hospitals
Mekonnen, B., Wang, G., Rajbhandari‐Thapa, J., Shi, L., Thapa, K., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, D. “. (2020) · Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.105106 · Cited by 18
The Prevalence and Progression of Myopia in Elementary School Students in Shanxi Province, China During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Fei, F., Luo, H. L., Zhao, G. H., & Luo, X. L. (2022) · Seminars in Ophthalmology · doi:10.1080/08820538.2022.2087474 · Cited by 18
“could influence the dependent variables were included in the regression model analysis.(24) A multi-level comparison analysis was adopted to compare the continuous variables in the major risk factors between grades, and the categorical variables were compared between categories.”
Method
Debiaser for Multiple Variables to enhance fairness in classification tasks
d’Aloisio, G., D’Angelo, A., Marco, A. D., & Stilo, G. (2022) · Information Processing & Management · doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2022.103226 · Cited by 18
Environmental regulation and corporate philanthropy: Evidence and mechanism from China
Wang, K., Yu, N., Ma, Y., & Tang, Y. (2023) · Research in International Business and Finance · doi:10.1016/j.ribaf.2023.102046 · Cited by 19

Authors: Clarke, K. A.
Affiliations: University of Rochester (US)
Corresponding author: Clarke, Kevin A.
ORCID: Clarke, Kevin A.
Venue: Conflict Management and Peace Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2005-09
Volume: 22
Issue: 4
Pages: 341-352
ISSN: 0738-8942 (ISSN-L)
1549-9219
DOI: 10.1080/07388940500339183
OpenAlex: W2146807455
Cited by: 484
References: 42
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 58 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 32
FWCI: 11.74
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Conflict Management and Peace Science (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Science Research and Education
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Spatial and Panel Data Analysis
Keywords: omitted variable bias, control variables, regression analysis, specification bias, experimental control, econometric methodology, political science research

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The Phantom Menace: Omitted Variable Bias in Econometric Research

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