The Rubin causal model (RCM), also known as the Neyman–Rubin causal model,[1] is an approach to the statistical analysis of cause and effect based on the framework of potential outcomes, named after Donald Rubin. The name "Rubin causal model" was first coined by Paul W. Holland.[2] The potential outcomes framework was first proposed by Jerzy Neyman in his 1923 Master's thesis,[3] though he discussed it only in the context of completely randomized experiments.[4] Rubin extended it into a general framework for thinking about causation in both observational and experimental studies.[1]