Why Curve-Fitting Cannot Be Used to Show Causation or Estimate Impact

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Iain Cockburn discusses the problems with curve-fitting methodology in economic analysis in this Westlaw article.

Courts are often put in the position of assessing statistical analyses used to establish the causal impact of some challenged conduct, or to quantify its impact. In this article, author Iain Cockburn discusses one such economic methodology, curve-fitting. Professor Cockburn outlines the issues he has found with this methodology as a testifying expert.

This article was originally published by Westlaw in August 2021.


The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.

Why Curve-Fitting Cannot Be Used to Show Causation or Estimate Impact

Author

Iain M. Cockburn

Richard C. Shipley Professor in Management,
Questrom School of Business,
Boston University