In other cases, controlling for a non-confounding variable may cause underestimation of the true causal effect of the explanatory variables on an outcome (e.g. when controlling for a mediator or its descendant). Counterfactual reasoning mitigates the influence of confounders without this drawback.
Controlling for confounding variables can lead to underestimation of causal effects, especially when controlling for mediators or their descendants. Counterfactual reasoning offers a solution by mitigating the impact of confounders without this limitation.