  We propose a framework for the analysis of transmission channels in a large
class of dynamic models. To this end, we formulate our approach both using
graph theory and potential outcomes, which we show to be equivalent. Our
method, labelled Transmission Channel Analysis (TCA), allows for the
decomposition of total effects captured by impulse response functions into the
effects flowing along transmission channels, thereby providing a quantitative
assessment of the strength of various transmission channels. We establish that
this requires no additional identification assumptions beyond the
identification of the structural shock whose effects the researcher wants to
decompose. Additionally, we prove that impulse response functions are
sufficient statistics for the computation of transmission effects. We
demonstrate the empirical relevance of TCA for policy evaluation by decomposing
the effects of policy shocks arising from a variety of popular macroeconomic
models.
