Convergence rates for unconstrained bandwidth matrix selectors in multivariate kernel density estimation

Progress in selection of smoothing parameters for kernel density estimation has been much slower in the multivariate than univariate setting. Within the context of multivariate density estimation attention has focused on diagonal bandwidth matrices. However, there is evidence to suggest that the use of full (or unconstrained) bandwidth matrices can be beneficial. This paper presents some results in the asymptotic analysis of data-driven selectors of full bandwidth matrices. In particular, we give relative rates of convergence for plug-in selectors and a biased cross-validation selector.     

Plug-in bandwidth selector for the kernel relative density estimator

This paper is focused on two kernel relative density estimators in a two-sample problem. An asymptotic expression for the mean integrated squared error of these estimators is found and, based on it, two solve- the-equation plug-in bandwidth selectors are proposed. In order to examine their practical performance a simulation study and a practical application to a medical dataset are carried out.     

Bandwidth selection for a data sharpening estimator in nonparametric regression

This paper is concerned with data-based selection of the bandwidth for a data sharpening estimator in nonparametric regression. Two kinds of bandwidths are considered: a bandwidth vector which has a different bandwidth for each covariate, and a scalar bandwidth that is common for all covariates. A plug-in method is developed and its theoretical performance is fully investigated. The proposed plug-in method works efficiently in our simulation study.     

Optimal kernel estimation of spot volatility of stochastic differential equations

A unified framework to optimally select the bandwidth and kernel function of spot volatility kernel estimators is put forward. The proposed models include not only classical Brownian motion driven dynamics but also volatility processes that are driven by long-memory fractional Brownian motions or other Gaussian processes. We characterize the leading order terms of the mean squared error, which in turn enables us to determine an explicit formula for the leading term of the optimal bandwidth. Central limit theorems for the estimation error are also obtained. A feasible plug-in type bandwidth selection procedure is then proposed, for which, as a sub-problem, a new estimator of the volatility of volatility is developed. The optimal selection of the kernel function is also investigated. For Brownian Motion type volatilities, the optimal kernel turns out to be an exponential function, while, for fractional Brownian motion type volatilities, easily implementable numerical results to compute the optimal kernels are devised. Simulation studies further confirm the good performance of the proposed methods.     

Empirical likelihood for balanced ranked-set sampled data

Ranked-set sampling (RSS) often provides more efficient inference than simple random sampling (SRS). In this article, we propose a systematic nonparametric technique, RSS-EL, for hypothesis testing and interval estimation with balanced RSS data using empirical likelihood (EL). We detail the approach for interval estimation and hypothesis testing in one-sample and two-sample problems and general estimating equations. In all three cases, RSS is shown to provide more efficient inference than SRS of the same size. Moreover, the RSS-EL method does not require any easily violated assumptions needed by existing rank-based nonparametric methods for RSS data, such as perfect ranking, identical ranking scheme in two groups, and location shift between two population distributions. The merit of the RSS-EL method is also demonstrated through simulation studies. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10871037)     

Bandwidth Selection in Density Estimation with Truncated and Censored Data

A plug-in type bandwidth selector is presented for density estimation with truncated and censored data. It is based on a representation of the MISE function obtained in the paper. Rate of convergence and limit distribution are derived for this selector. A bootstrap method is introduced to estimate the MISE whose minimizer is an alternative bandwidth selector. A simulation study was carried out to assess the behavior with small samples. This methodology is applied to a real-data problem consisting of reporting delay of AIDS cases. The almost sure representation of the product-limit estimator is a key tool in our proofs.     

Bandwidth selection for the local polynomial estimator under dependence: A simulation study

Summary  Seven of the most popular methods for bandwidth selection in regression estimation are compared by means of a thorough simulation study, when the local polynomial estimator is used and the observations are dependent. The study is completed with two plug-in bandwidths for the generalized local polynomial estimator proposed by Vilar-Fernandez & Francisco-Fernández (2002).     

Exact and Asymptotically Optimal Bandwidths for Kernel Estimation of Density Functionals

Given a density f we pose the problem of estimating the density functional $\psi_r=\int f^{(r)}f$ for a non-negative even r making use of kernel methods. This is a well-known problem but some of its features remained unexplored. We focus on the problem of bandwidth selection. Whereas all the previous studies concentrate on an asymptotically optimal bandwidth here we study the properties of exact, non-asymptotic ones, and relate them with the former. Our main conclusion is that, despite being asymptotically equivalent, for realistic sample sizes much is lost by using the asymptotically optimal bandwidth. In contrast, as a target for data-driven selectors we propose another bandwidth which retains the small sample performance of the exact one.     

Identifiability issues of age–period and age–period–cohort models of the Lee–Carter type

The predominant way of modelling mortality rates is the Lee–Carter model and its many extensions. The Lee–Carter model and its many extensions use a latent process to forecast. These models are estimated using a two-step procedure that causes an inconsistent view on the latent variable. This paper considers identifiability issues of these models from a perspective that acknowledges the latent variable as a stochastic process from the beginning. We call this perspective the plug-in age–period or plug-in age–period–cohort model. Defining a parameter vector that includes the underlying parameters of this process rather than its realizations, we investigate whether the expected values and covariances of the plug-in Lee–Carter models are identifiable. It will be seen, for example, that even if in both steps of the estimation procedure we have identifiability in a certain sense it does not necessarily carry over to the plug-in models.     

Tests of perfect judgment ranking using pseudo-samples

Ranked set sampling (RSS) is a sampling approach that can produce improved statistical inference when the ranking process is perfect. While some inferential RSS methods are robust to imperfect rankings, other methods may fail entirely or provide less efficiency. We develop a nonparametric procedure to assess whether the rankings of a given RSS are perfect. We generate pseudo-samples with a known ranking and use them to compare with the ranking of the given RSS sample. This is a general approach that can accommodate any type of raking, including perfect ranking. To generate pseudo-samples, we consider the given sample as the population and generate a perfect RSS. The test statistics can easily be implemented for balanced and unbalanced RSS. The proposed tests are compared using Monte Carlo simulation under different distributions and applied to a real data set.     

A note on the universal consistency of the kernel distribution function estimator

The problem of universal consistency of data driven bandwidth selectors for the kernel distribution estimator is analyzed. We provide a uniform in bandwidth result for the kernel estimate of a continuous distribution function. Our smoothness assumption is minimal in the sense that if the true distribution function has some discontinuity then the kernel estimate is no longer consistent.     

Bootstrap bandwidth selection in kernel density estimation from a contaminated sample

In this paper we consider kernel estimation of a density when the data are contaminated by random noise. More specifically we deal with the problem of how to choose the bandwidth parameter in practice. A theoretical optimal bandwidth is defined as the minimizer of the mean integrated squared error. We propose a bootstrap procedure to estimate this optimal bandwidth, and show its consistency. These results remain valid for the case of no measurement error, and hence also summarize part of the theory of bootstrap bandwidth selection in ordinary kernel density estimation. The finite sample performance of the proposed bootstrap selection procedure is demonstrated with a simulation study. An application to a real data example illustrates the use of the method. This research was supported by ‘Projet d’Actions de Recherche Concertées’ (No. 98/03-217) from the Belgian government. Financial support from the IAP research network nr P5/24 of the Belgian State (Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs) is also gratefully acknowledged.     

An asymptotics look at the generalized inference

This paper provides an asymptotics look at the generalized inference through showing connections between the generalized inference and two widely used asymptotic methods, the bootstrap and plug-in method. A generalized bootstrap method and a generalized plug-in method are introduced. The generalized bootstrap method can not only be used to prove asymptotic frequentist properties of existing generalized confidence regions through viewing fiducial generalized pivotal quantities as generalized bootstrap variables, but also yield new confidence regions for the situations where the generalized inference is unavailable. Some examples are presented to illustrate the method. In addition, the generalized F-test (Weerahandi, 1995 [26]) can be derived by the generalized plug-in method, then its asymptotic validity is obtained.     

Robust and efficient variable selection for semiparametric partially linear varying coefficient model based on modal regression

Semiparametric partially linear varying coefficient models (SPLVCM) are frequently used in statistical modeling. With high-dimensional covariates both in parametric and nonparametric part for SPLVCM, sparse modeling is often considered in practice. In this paper, we propose a new estimation and variable selection procedure based on modal regression, where the nonparametric functions are approximated by $B$ -spline basis. The outstanding merit of the proposed variable selection procedure is that it can achieve both robustness and efficiency by introducing an additional tuning parameter (i.e., bandwidth $h$ ). Its oracle property is also established for both the parametric and nonparametric part. Moreover, we give the data-driven bandwidth selection method and propose an EM-type algorithm for the proposed method. Monte Carlo simulation study and real data example are conducted to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed method. Both the simulation results and real data analysis confirm that the newly proposed method works very well.     

Semiparametric analysis based on weighted estimating equations for transformation models with missing covariates

Missing covariate data are very common in regression analysis. In this paper, the weighted estimating equation method (Qi et al., 2005) [25] is used to extend the so-called unified estimation procedure (Chen et al., 2002) [4] for linear transformation models to the case of missing covariates. The non-missingness probability is estimated nonparametrically by the kernel smoothing technique. Under missing at random, the proposed estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal, with the asymptotic variance estimated consistently by the usual plug-in method. Moreover, the proposed estimators are more efficient than the weighted estimators with the inverse of true non-missingness probability as weight. Finite sample performance of the estimators is examined via simulation and a real dataset is analyzed to illustrate the proposed methods.     

Optimal bandwidth selection for conditional efficiency measures: A data-driven approach

In productivity analysis an important issue is to detect how external (environmental) factors, exogenous to the production process and not under the control of the producer, might influence the production process and the resulting efficiency of the firms. Most of the traditional approaches proposed in the literature have serious drawbacks. An alternative approach is to describe the production process as being conditioned by a given value of the environmental variables (Cazals, C., Florens, J.P., Simar, L., 2002. Nonparametric Frontier estimation: A robust approach. Journal of Econometrics 106, 1–25; Daraio, C., Simar, L., 2005. Introducing environmental variables in nonparametric Frontier models: A probabilistic approach. Journal of Productivity Analysis 24(1), 93–121). This defines conditional efficiency measures where the production set in the input ×$\times$ output space may depend on the value of the external variables. The statistical properties of nonparametric estimators of these conditional measures are now established (Jeong, S.O., Park, B.U., Simar, L., 2008. Nonparametric conditional efficiency measures: Asymptotic properties. Annals of Operations Research doi: 10.1007/s10479-008-0359-5). These involve the estimation of a nonstandard conditional distribution function which requires the specification of a smoothing parameter (a bandwidth). So far, only the asymptotic optimal order of this bandwidth has been established. This is of little interest for the practitioner. In this paper we fill this gap and we propose a data-driven technique for selecting this parameter in practice. The approach, based on a Least Squares Cross Validation procedure (LSCV), provides an optimal bandwidth that minimizes an appropriate (weighted) integrated Squared Error (ISE). The method is carefully described and exemplified with some simulated data with univariate and multivariate environmental factors. An application on real data (performances of Mutual Funds) illustrates how this new optimal method of bandwidth selection works in practice.     

An effective selection of regression variables when the error distribution is incorrectly specified

Summary An asymptotically efficient selection of regression variables is considered in the situation where the statistician estimates regression parameters by the maximum likelihood method but fails to choose a likelihood function matching the true error distribution. The proposed procedure is useful when a robust regression technique is applied but the data in fact do not require that treatment. Examples and a Monte Carlo study are presented and relationships to other selectors such as Mallows'C _p are investigated. Research supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 123 “Stochastische Mathematische Modelle” and AFOSR Contract No. F49620 82 C 0009.     

Estimation of the Common Mean of a Bivariate Normal Population

In this paper we discuss the problem of estimating the common mean of a bivariate normal population based on paired data as well as data on one of the marginals. Two double sampling schemes with the second stage sampling being either a simple random sampling (SRS) or a ranked set sampling (RSS) are considered. Two common mean estimators are proposed. It is found that under normality, the proposed RSS common mean estimator is always superior to the proposed SRS common mean estimator and other existing estimators such as the RSS regression estimator proposed by Yu and Lam (1997, Biometrics, 53, 1070–1080). The problem of estimating the mean Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of regular gasoline based on field and laboratory data is considered.     

The cumulation of incompetence in organizations

An absorbing Markov chain model with a continuous time parameter is used to describe the effects on organizational efficiency of selection for vacancies by selectors with incomplete information on the candidates. Analytical results indicate that the efficiency decreases to zero, eventually at an exponential rate. Simulation studies for large hierarchical organizations of moderate “steepness” (number of employees per boss) and with moderate accuracy of the selection procedure suggest that the amount of time before a substantial decrease in efficiency occurs is generally large compared to a lifetime.     

A note on a consistency property for permutations

In cooperative game theory allocation of earnings to players may take place on the basis of selectors or—more restrictively—consistent selectors, or on the basis of a permutation representing the queueing of the players. This note gives a graph theoretic characterization of those situations in which the latter allocation method results in allocation with consistent selectors.