Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences:The Micro-foundation and Process Tracking

Changdong Zhang

Abstract: Causal mechanismsare crucial to identifyingcausal relationships in the social sciences. In this article, the author presents some examples to elaborate upon two important causal mechanisms, that is, the micro-foundation and process tracking. The microfoundation reveals the causal mechanism by lowering the level of analysis and emphasizing the actors, thus providing the micro-foundation for structural phenomena. Processtracking emphasizes the importance of history, causal chains, and contingencies. It also includes actors and deals with endogeneity problems. Finally, the author discusses some challenges facing causal mechanism analyses.

Key Words: Causal Mechanism; Micro-foundation; Process Tracking; Causal Chains