Sensitivity Analysis to Unobserved Confounding with Copula-based Normalizing Flows

Abstract

We propose a novel method for sensitivity analysis to unobserved confounding in causal inference. The method builds on a copula-based causal graphical normalizing flow that we term $\rho$-GNF, where $\rho \in [-1,+1]$ is the sensitivity parameter. The parameter represents the non-causal association between exposure and outcome due to unobserved confounding, which is modeled as a Gaussian copula. In other words, the $\rho$-GNF enables scholars to estimate the average causal effect (ACE) as a function of $\rho$, accounting for various confounding strengths. The output of the $\rho$-GNF is what we term the $\rho_{curve}$, which provides the bounds for the ACE given an interval of assumed $\rho$ values. The $\rho_{curve}$ also enables scholars to identify the confounding strength required to nullify the ACE. We also propose a Bayesian version of our sensitivity analysis method. Assuming a prior over the sensitivity parameter $\rho$ enables us to derive the posterior distribution over the ACE, which enables us to derive credible intervals. Finally, leveraging on experiments from simulated and real-world data, we show the benefits of our sensitivity analysis method.