Order Dependence in Regression by Composition: Discussion on "Regression by Composition'' by Farewell, Daniel, Stensrud, and Huitfeldt
Methodology
2026-04-21 v1
Abstract
We discuss the regression-by-composition framework of Farewell, Daniel, Stensrud and Huitfeldt, highlighting a key consequence of its sequential construction: order dependence. Reordering the flows may change the implied conditional distribution, the interpretation of model parameters, and the associated estimation problem, with consequences for model specification, interpretation, and inference.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.18388,
title = {Order Dependence in Regression by Composition: Discussion on "Regression by Composition'' by Farewell, Daniel, Stensrud, and Huitfeldt},
author = {Mei Dong and Linbo Wang and Lin Liu and Oliver Dukes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.18388},
year = {2026}
}