Causation means B was the result of A (i.e., A caused B). For example, monetary inflation could be caused by rising wages. To say that A caused B, three things must be true:

1.     A happened before B

2.     A and B are statistically related (i.e., correlated)

3.     There are no better explanations for the relationship between A and B

See also: correlation, spurious correlation

Return to the Evaluation Dictionary