Asymptotic expansions for the pivots using log-likelihood derivatives with an application in item response theory

Asymptotic expansions of the distributions of the pivotal statistics involving log-likelihood derivatives under possible model misspecification are derived using the asymptotic cumulants up to the fourth-order and the higher-order asymptotic variance. The pivots dealt with are the studentized ones by the estimated expected information, the negative Hessian matrix, the sum of products of gradient vectors, and the so-called sandwich estimator. It is shown that the first three asymptotic cumulants are the same over the pivots under correct model specification with a general condition of the equalities. An application is given in item response theory, where the observed information is usually used rather than the estimated expected one.     

On the equivalence of estimations under a general linear model and its transformed models

Some necessary and sufficient conditions are given for two equalities of ordinary least-squares estimators and best linear unbiased estimators of an estimable vector of parametric functions under a general linear model and its transformed linear model to hold     

Equalities for orthogonal projectors and their operations

A complex square matrix A is called an orthogonal projector if A ² = A = A*, where A* denotes the conjugate transpose of A. In this paper, we give a comprehensive investigation to matrix expressions consisting of orthogonal projectors and their properties through ranks of matrices. We first collect some well-known rank formulas for orthogonal projectors and their operations, and then establish various new rank formulas for matrix expressions composed by orthogonal projectors. As applications, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for various equalities for orthogonal projectors and their operations to hold.     

Risk and Pitman closeness properties of feasible generalized double k-class estimators in linear regression models with non-spherical disturbances under balanced loss function

In this article, a family of feasible generalized double k-class estimator in a linear regression model with non-spherical disturbances is considered. The performance of this estimator is judged with feasible generalized least-squares and feasible generalized Stein-rule estimators under balanced loss function using the criteria of quadratic risk and general Pitman closeness. A Monte-Carlo study investigates the finite sample properties of several estimators arising from the family of feasible double k-class estimators.     

Estimation for parameters of interest in random effects growth curve models

In this paper, we consider the general growth curve model with multivariate random effects covariance structure and provide a new simple estimator for the parameters of interest. This estimator is not only convenient for testing the hypothesis on the corresponding parameters, but also has higher efficiency than the least-square estimator and the improved two-stage estimator obtained by Rao under certain conditions. Moreover, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition for the new estimator to be identical to the best linear unbiased estimator. Examples of its application are given.     

Minimax adjustment technique in a parameter restricted linear model

We consider an approach yielding a minimax estimator in the linear regression model with a priori information on the parameter vector, e.g., ellipsoidal restrictions. This estimator is computed directly from the loss function and can be motivated by the general Pitman nearness criterion. It turns out that this approach coincides with the projection estimator which is obtained by projecting an initial arbitrary estimate on the subset defined by the restrictions.     

Cramér-von Mises type estimation of the regression parameter: The rank analogue

A point estimator based on minimization of the rank analogue of the Cramér-von Mises statistic is proposed for the slope parameter β in the simple linear regression model. The asymptotic distribution of the estimator is derived and its variance is compared to the asymptotic variances of several common estimators for β at various underlying distributions.     

Column space equalities for orthogonal projectors

In their paper [Y. Tian, G.P.H. Styan, Rank equalities for idempotent and involutory matrices. Linear Algebra Appl. 335 (2001) 101-117], Tian and Styan established several rank equalities involving a pair of idempotent matrices P and Q. Subsequently, these results are reinvestigated from the point of view of the following question: provided that idempotent P, Q are Hermitian, which relationships given in the aforementioned paper remain valid when ranks are replaced with column spaces? Simultaneously, some related results are established, which shed additional light on the links between subspaces attributed to various functions of a pair of orthogonal projectors.     

Best affine unbiased representations of the fully restricted general Gauss-Markov model

This article completes and simplifies earlier results on the derivation of best linear, or affine, unbiased estimates in the general Gauss-Markov model with a singular dispersion matrix and additional restrictions under very general conditions. We provide the class of all linear representations of the best affine unbiased estimator with precise statements concerning its indeterminacy.     

Autoregressive process modeling via the Lasso procedure

The Lasso is a popular model selection and estimation procedure for linear models that enjoys nice theoretical properties. In this paper, we study the Lasso estimator for fitting autoregressive time series models. We adopt a double asymptotic framework where the maximal lag may increase with the sample size. We derive theoretical results establishing various types of consistency. In particular, we derive conditions under which the Lasso estimator for the autoregressive coefficients is model selection consistent, estimation consistent and prediction consistent. Simulation study results are reported.     

Asymptotic properties of conditional maximum likelihood estimator in a certain exponential model

The conditional maximum likelihood estimator is suggested as an alternative to the maximum likelihood estimator and is favorable for an estimator of a dispersion parameter in the normal distribution, the inverse-Gaussian distribution, and so on. However, it is not clear whether the conditional maximum likelihood estimator is asymptotically efficient in general. Consider the case where it is asymptotically efficient and its asymptotic covariance depends only on an objective parameter in an exponential model. This remand implies that the exponential model possesses a certain parallel foliation. In this situation, this paper investigates asymptotic properties of the conditional maximum likelihood estimator and compares the conditional maximum likelihood estimator with the maximum likelihood estimator. We see that the bias of the former is more robust than that of the latter and that two estimators are very close, especially in the sense of bias-corrected version. The mean Pythagorean relation is also discussed.     

A comparison of minimax and least squares estimators in linear regression with polyhedral prior information

We consider the linear regression model where prior information in the form of linear inequalities restricts the parameter space to a polyhedron. Since the linear minimax estimator has, in general, to be determined numerically, it was proposed to minimize an upper bound of the maximum risk instead. The resulting so-called quasiminimax estimator can be easily calculated in closed form. Unfortunately, both minimax estimators may violate the prior information. Therefore, we consider projection estimators which are obtained by projecting the estimate in an optional second step. The performance of these estimators is investigated in a Monte Carlo study together with several least squares estimators, including the inequality restricted least squares estimator. It turns out that both the projected and the unprojected quasiminimax estimators have the best average performance.     

A decomposition of a linear model

In this paper we consider a general linear model in a continuous time. We propose a decomposition of the process which helps us to understand the structure of the model. Moreover, the sufficiency of the BLUE estimator of the expectation of the process can be characterized in terms of the Gaussian character of a component of the decomposition.     

Sparse estimation in functional linear regression

As a useful tool in functional data analysis, the functional linear regression model has become increasingly common and been studied extensively in recent years. In this paper, we consider a sparse functional linear regression model which is generated by a finite number of basis functions in an expansion of the coefficient function. In this model, we do not specify how many and which basis functions enter the model, thus it is not like a typical parametric model where predictor variables are pre-specified. We study a general framework that gives various procedures which are successful in identifying the basis functions that enter the model, and also estimating the resulting regression coefficients in one-step. We adopt the idea of variable selection in the linear regression setting where one adds a weighted L₁ penalty to the traditional least squares criterion. We show that the procedures in our general framework are consistent in the sense of selecting the model correctly, and that they enjoy the oracle property, meaning that the resulting estimators of the coefficient function have asymptotically the same properties as the oracle estimator which uses knowledge of the underlying model. We investigate and compare several methods within our general framework, via a simulation study. Also, we apply the methods to the Canadian weather data.     

The distribution of the residual from a general elliptical multivariate linear model

Given a general multivariate linear model of full or less than full rank, we find the distributions of internally and externally studentised residuals, assuming normal and elliptical distributions.     

Nonparametric regression estimation with general parametric error covariance

The asymptotic distribution for the local linear estimator in nonparametric regression models is established under a general parametric error covariance with dependent and heterogeneously distributed regressors. A two-step estimation procedure that incorporates the parametric information in the error covariance matrix is proposed. Sufficient conditions for its asymptotic normality are given and its efficiency relative to the local linear estimator is established. We give examples of how our results are useful in some recently studied regression models. A Monte Carlo study confirms the asymptotic theory predictions and compares our estimator with some recently proposed alternative estimation procedures.     

Functional-coefficient partially linear regression model

In this paper, the functional-coefficient partially linear regression (FCPLR) model is proposed by combining nonparametric and functional-coefficient regression (FCR) model. It includes the FCR model and the nonparametric regression (NPR) model as its special cases. It is also a generalization of the partially linear regression (PLR) model obtained by replacing the parameters in the PLR model with some functions of the covariates. The local linear technique and the integrated method are employed to give initial estimators of all functions in the FCPLR model. These initial estimators are asymptotically normal. The initial estimator of the constant part function shares the same bias as the local linear estimator of this function in the univariate nonparametric model, but the variance of the former is bigger than that of the latter. Similarly, initial estimators of every coefficient function share the same bias as the local linear estimates in the univariate FCR model, but the variance of the former is bigger than that of the latter. To decrease the variance of the initial estimates, a one-step back-fitting technique is used to obtain the improved estimators of all functions. The improved estimator of the constant part function has the same asymptotic normality property as the local linear nonparametric regression for univariate data. The improved estimators of the coefficient functions have the same asymptotic normality properties as the local linear estimates in FCR model. The bandwidths and the smoothing variables are selected by a data-driven method. Both simulated and real data examples related to nonlinear time series modeling are used to illustrate the applications of the FCPLR model.     

A subclass of bayes linear estimators that are minimax

In the linear regression model with ellipsoidal parameter constraints, the problem of estimating the unknown parameter vector is studied. A well-described subclass of Bayes linear estimators is proposed in the paper. It is shown that for each member of this subclass, a generalized quadratic risk function exists so that the estimator is minimax. Moreover, some of the proposed Bayes linear estimators are admissible with respect to all possible generalized quadratic risks. Also, a necessary and sufficient condition is given to ensure that the considered Bayes linear estimator improves the least squares estimator over the whole ellipsoid whatever generalized risk function is chosen.     

Statistical inference for panel data semiparametric partially linear regression models with heteroscedastic errors

We consider a panel data semiparametric partially linear regression model with an unknown parameter vector for the linear parametric component, an unknown nonparametric function for the nonlinear component, and a one-way error component structure which allows unequal error variances (referred to as heteroscedasticity). We develop procedures to detect heteroscedasticity and one-way error component structure, and propose a weighted semiparametric least squares estimator (WSLSE) of the parametric component in the presence of heteroscedasticity and/or one-way error component structure. This WSLSE is asymptotically more efficient than the usual semiparametric least squares estimator considered in the literature. The asymptotic properties of the WSLSE are derived. The nonparametric component of the model is estimated by the local polynomial method. Some simulations are conducted to demonstrate the finite sample performances of the proposed testing and estimation procedures. An example of application on a set of panel data of medical expenditures in Australia is also illustrated.     

Admissible prediction in superpopulation models with random regression coefficients under matrix loss function

Admissible prediction problems in finite populations with arbitrary rank under matrix loss function are investigated. For the general random effects linear model, we obtained the necessary and sufficient conditions for a linear predictor of the linearly predictable variable to be admissible in the two classes of homogeneous linear predictors and all linear predictors and the class that contains all predictors, respectively. Moreover, we prove that the best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) of the population total and the finite population regression coefficient are admissible under different assumptions of superpopulation models respectively.