Flexible Bayesian modelling and causal inference for panel data with R package dynamite

Panel data, consisting of various measurements from multiple subjects followed over several time points, are commonly studied in social sciences and other fields. Such data can naturally be analyzed in various ways, depending on the research questions and the characteristics of the data. Popular, somewhat overlapping modelling approaches include dynamic panel models, fixed effect models, and variations of cross-lagged panel models. In this talk, I extend the traditional cross-lagged panel model to handle time-varying effects and non-Gaussian response variables and show how Bayesian posterior predictive distributions can be used to evaluate long-term counterfactual predictions which take into account the dynamic structure of the assumed causal graph of the system. Finally, I give an overview of a new R package dynamite for Bayesian inference for panel data.

December 2, 2022

12:00 AM

University of Jyväskylä, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Statistics Seminar at University of Jyväskylä