Confounding Equivalence in Causal Inference

Abstract The paper provides a simple test for deciding, from a given causal diagram, whether two sets of variables have the same bias-reducing potential under adjustment. The test requires that one of the following two conditions holds: either (1) both sets are admissible (i.e. satisfy the back-door criterion) or (2) the Markov boundaries surrounding the treatment variable are identical in both sets. We further extend the test to include treatment-dependent covariates by broadening the back-door criterion and establishing equivalence of adjustment under selection bias conditions. Applications to covariate selection and model testing are discussed.