What is SUTVA?
hardAnswer
- Stable Unit Treatment Value Assumption: (1) no interference between units — one unit's treatment doesn't affect another's outcome (breaks in networks, marketplaces, viral products), (2) no hidden treatment variants — one 'treatment' is well-defined.
- Violated in social networks (spillovers), two-sided marketplaces (Uber: driver-side changes affect rider outcomes), auctions (competition), any system with global equilibrium effects.
- Fixes: cluster / market-level randomization, switchback experiments.
Check yourself — multiple choice
- Random
- No interference + one treatment version; broken in networks, marketplaces, auctions → cluster / market-level randomization or switchback
- Same as ignorability
- Not needed
SUTVA: no interference + one treatment version; violated in marketplaces / networks.
#causal-inference#ab-testing
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