OVERVIEW: Many epidemiologists are interested in teasing apart the causal effects of upstream social or economic factors on health outcomes at the population level. Integration of methodologic approaches borrowed from the field of econometrics into epidemiologic research can be useful to overcome limitations of observational study designs which primarily rely on adjustment for confounding factors in the data analysis phase and may fall short of adequately reducing bias. The purpose of this joint SER and IAPHS symposium is to discuss several applications of econometric methods including use of interrupted time-series designs, instrumental variables and difference-in-difference analyses which can serve as tools for epidemiologists wanting to improve causal inference regarding the effect of social policies and/or interventions on population health.
