Estimation of causal effect in the social sciences with matching

The counterfactual approach to causal analysis has received considerable attention in the social sciences. The method makes it possible to estimate causal effects and evaluate social policies and projects. This paper presents the theoretical framework for causal analysis based on counterfactual framework. Then, using interval matching with propensity scores, the effect of mother’s literacy on infant mortality is estimated. Data used is from Iran Demographic and Health Survey. The results indicate that for matched cases mother’s literacy reduces infant mortality by about 18 deaths per thousand live births. The paper also presents the limitations of the method in observational studies