ABSTRACT
Causal relations come in a variety of guises. Most fundamentally, one can distinguish between generic causal relations on the one hand, and singular causal relations on the other. Generic causal relations are those that obtain repeatedly. They are true of properties, event-types, or variables rather than individual events: exercise prevents cardiovascular disease; lithium is effective in the treatment of mania; aspirin cures headaches; expanding the money stock, in the long run, raises prices; protecting certain industries from international competition stimulates economic development. Singular causes are the causes of individual events: swallowing this aspirin pill cured this headache; low Federal interest rates in the early 2000s fueled the recent asset price bubble in the U.S. housing market; South Korea used infant industry protection successfully in its economic development since the 1950s. Part II of this book examines singular causal relations.
