摘要：Social scientists increasingly exploit natural experiments in their research. This article surveys recent applications in political science, with the goal of illustrating the inferential advantages provided by this research design. When treatment assignment is less than “as if” random, studies may be something less than natural experiments, and familiar threats to valid causal inference in observational settings can arise. The author proposes a continuum of plausibility for natural experiments, defined by the extent to which treatment assignment is plausibly “as if” random, and locates several leading studies along this continuum.
关键词：Natural Experiment;“As If” Random;Exogenous Variation;Continuum of Plausibility;Matching.;Experimento Natural;"Como Se" Aleatório;Variação Exogênea;Contínuo de Plausibilidade;Comparação.
