Abstract principles, causal cakes and asymmetry of results in policy making. A reply to Menno Rol.

This brief note aims to reply to a comment made by Menno Rol (2020. Ladders of abstraction, support factors, and semantics in the design of policies. Journal of Economic Methodology. In press) about my paper published in this journal (Ivarola, 2019, Alternative consequences and asymmetry of results: their importance for policy decision making. Journal of Economic Methodology, 26(2), 147–162). Specifically, I will try to clarify some misunderstandings, especially those related to the notion of causal principles, support factors, theoretical cakes and permanent interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]