Statistical inference in partially-varying-coefficient single-index model

Consider a varying-coefficient single-index model which consists of two parts: the linear part with varying coefficients and the nonlinear part with a single-index structure, and are hence termed as varying-coefficient single-index models. This model includes many important regression models such as single-index models, partially linear single-index models, varying-coefficient model and varying-coefficient partially linear models as special examples. In this paper, we mainly study estimating problems of the varying-coefficient vector, the nonparametric link function and the unknown parametric vector describing the single-index in the model. A stepwise approach is developed to obtain asymptotic normality estimators of the varying-coefficient vector and the parametric vector, and estimators of the nonparametric link function with a convergence rate. The consistent estimator of the structural error variance is also obtained. In addition, asymptotic pointwise confidence intervals and confidence regions are constructed for the varying coefficients and the parametric vector. The bandwidth selection problem is also considered. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the proposed methods, and real data analysis is also used to illustrate our methods.     

Model selection via adaptive shrinkage with t priors

We discuss a model selection procedure, the adaptive ridge selector, derived from a hierarchical Bayes argument, which results in a simple and efficient fitting algorithm. The hierarchical model utilized resembles an un-replicated variance components model and leads to weighting of the covariates. We discuss the intuition behind this type estimator and investigate its behavior as a regularized least squares procedure. While related alternatives were recently exploited to simultaneously fit and select variablses/features in regression models (Tipping in J Mach Learn Res 1:211–244, 2001; Figueiredo in IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell 25:1150–1159, 2003), the extension presented here shows considerable improvement in model selection accuracy in several important cases. We also compare this estimator’s model selection performance to those offered by the lasso and adaptive lasso solution paths. Under randomized experimentation, we show that a fixed choice of tuning parameter leads to results in terms of model selection accuracy which are superior to the entire solution paths of lasso and adaptive lasso when the underlying model is a sparse one. We provide a robust version of the algorithm which is suitable in cases where outliers may exist.     

测量误差模型的自适应LASSO变量选择方法研究

本文研究测量误差模型的自适应LASSO(least absolute shrinkage and selection operator)变量选择和系数估计问题.首先分别给出协变量有测量误差时的线性模型和部分线性模型自适应LASSO参数估计量,在一些正则条件下研究估计量的渐近性质,并且证明选择合适的调整参数,自适应LASSO参数估计量具有oracle性质.其次讨论估计的实现算法及惩罚参数和光滑参数的选择问题.最后通过模拟和一个实际数据分析研究了自适应LASSO变量选择方法的表现,结果表明,变量选择和参数估计效果良好.     

Shrinkage estimation and variable selection in multiple regression models with random coefficient autoregressive errors

In this paper, we consider improved estimation strategies for the parameter vector in multiple regression models with first-order random coefficient autoregressive errors (RCAR(1)). We propose a shrinkage estimation strategy and implement variable selection methods such as lasso and adaptive lasso strategies. The simulation results reveal that the shrinkage estimators perform better than both lasso and adaptive lasso when and only when there are many nuisance variables in the model.     

Hierarchically penalized additive hazards model with diverging number of parameters

In many applications,covariates can be naturally grouped.For example,for gene expression data analysis,genes belonging to the same pathway might be viewed as a group.This paper studies variable selection problem for censored survival data in the additive hazards model when covariates are grouped.A hierarchical regularization method is proposed to simultaneously estimate parameters and select important variables at both the group level and the within-group level.For the situations in which the number of parameters tends to∞as the sample size increases,we establish an oracle property and asymptotic normality property of the proposed estimators.Numerical results indicate that the hierarchically penalized method performs better than some existing methods such as lasso,smoothly clipped absolute deviation(SCAD)and adaptive lasso.     

Variable selection of generalized regression models based on maximum rank correlation

In this paper, we investigate the variable selection problem of the generalized regression models. To estimate the regression parameter, a procedure combining the rank correlation method and the adaptive lasso technique is developed, which is proved to have oracle properties. A modified IMO （iterative marginal optimization） algorithm which directly aims to maximize the penalized rank correlation function is proposed. The effects of the estimating procedure are illustrated by simulation studies.     

Model selection via standard error adjusted adaptive lasso

The adaptive lasso is a model selection method shown to be both consistent in variable selection and asymptotically normal in coefficient estimation. The actual variable selection performance of the adaptive lasso depends on the weight used. It turns out that the weight assignment using the OLS estimate (OLS-adaptive lasso) can result in very poor performance when collinearity of the model matrix is a concern. To achieve better variable selection results, we take into account the standard errors of the OLS estimate for weight calculation, and propose two different versions of the adaptive lasso denoted by SEA-lasso and NSEA-lasso. We show through numerical studies that when the predictors are highly correlated, SEA-lasso and NSEA-lasso can outperform OLS-adaptive lasso under a variety of linear regression settings while maintaining the same theoretical properties of the adaptive lasso.     

Penalized quadratic inference functions for single-index models with longitudinal data

In this paper, we focus on single-index models for longitudinal data. We propose a procedure to estimate the single-index component and the unknown link function based on the combination of the penalized splines and quadratic inference functions. It is shown that the proposed estimation method has good asymptotic properties. We also evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed method via Monte Carlo simulation studies. Furthermore, the proposed method is illustrated in the analysis of a real data set.     

Local Walsh-average-based estimation and variable selection for single-index models

We propose a robust estimation procedure based on local Walsh-average regression(LWR) for single-index models. Our novel method provides a root-n consistent estimate of the single-index parameter under some mild regularity conditions; the estimate of the unknown link function converges at the usual rate for the nonparametric estimation of a univariate covariate. We theoretically demonstrate that the new estimators show significant efficiency gain across a wide spectrum of non-normal error distributions and have almost no loss of efficiency for the normal error. Even in the worst case, the asymptotic relative efficiency(ARE) has a lower bound compared with the least squares(LS) estimates; the lower bounds of the AREs are 0.864 and 0.8896 for the single-index parameter and nonparametric function, respectively. Moreover, the ARE of the proposed LWR-based approach versus the ARE of the LS-based method has an expression that is closely related to the ARE of the signed-rank Wilcoxon test as compared with the t-test. In addition, to obtain a sparse estimate of the single-index parameter, we develop a variable selection procedure by combining the estimation method with smoothly clipped absolute deviation penalty; this procedure is shown to possess the oracle property. We also propose a Bayes information criterion(BIC)-type criterion for selecting the tuning parameter and further prove its ability to consistently identify the true model. We conduct some Monte Carlo simulations and a real data analysis to illustrate the finite sample performance of the proposed methods.     

Asymptotics for a censored generalized linear model with unknown link function

For censored response variable against projected co-variable, a generalized linear model with an unknown link function can cover almost all existing models under censorship. Its special cases include the accelerated failure time model with censored data. Such a model in the uncensored case is called the single-index model in econometrics. In this paper, we systematically study the asymptotic properties. We derive the central limit theorem and the law of the iterated logarithm for an estimator of the direction parameter. We also obtain the optimal convergence rate of an estimator of the unknown link function in the model.      

部分线性单指标模型的复合分位数回归及变量选择

本文提出复合最小化平均分位数损失估计方法 (composite minimizing average check loss estimation,CMACLE)用于实现部分线性单指标模型(partial linear single-index models,PLSIM)的复合分位数回归(composite quantile regression,CQR).首先基于高维核函数构造参数部分的复合分位数回归意义下的相合估计,在此相合估计的基础上,通过采用指标核函数进一步得到参数和非参数函数的可达最优收敛速度的估计,并建立所得估计的渐近正态性,比较PLSIM的CQR估计和最小平均方差估计(MAVE)的相对渐近效率.进一步地,本文提出CQR框架下PLSIM的变量选择方法,证明所提变量选择方法的oracle性质.随机模拟和实例分析验证了所提方法在有限样本时的表现,证实了所提方法的优良性.     

Nonconcave penalized inverse regression in single-index models with high dimensional predictors

In this paper we aim to estimate the direction in general single-index models and to select important variables simultaneously when a diverging number of predictors are involved in regressions. Towards this end, we propose the nonconcave penalized inverse regression method. Specifically, the resulting estimation with the SCAD penalty enjoys an oracle property in semi-parametric models even when the dimension, p_n, of predictors goes to infinity. Under regularity conditions we also achieve the asymptotic normality when the dimension of predictor vector goes to infinity at the rate of p_n=o(n^1/3) where n is sample size, which enables us to construct confidence interval/region for the estimated index. The asymptotic results are augmented by simulations, and illustrated by analysis of an air pollution dataset.     

Covariate Selection in High-Dimensional Generalized Linear Models With Measurement Error

In many problems involving generalized linear models, the covariates are subject to measurement error. When the number of covariates p exceeds the sample size n, regularized methods like the lasso or Dantzig selector are required. Several recent papers have studied methods which correct for measurement error in the lasso or Dantzig selector for linear models in the p > n setting. We study a correction for generalized linear models, based on Rosenbaum and Tsybakov’s matrix uncertainty selector. By not requiring an estimate of the measurement error covariance matrix, this generalized matrix uncertainty selector has a great practical advantage in problems involving high-dimensional data. We further derive an alternative method based on the lasso, and develop efficient algorithms for both methods. In our simulation studies of logistic and Poisson regression with measurement error, the proposed methods outperform the standard lasso and Dantzig selector with respect to covariate selection, by reducing the number of false positives considerably. We also consider classification of patients on the basis of gene expression data with noisy measurements. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Differentially Private Precision Matrix Estimation

In this paper, we study the problem of precision matrix estimation when the dataset contains sensitive information. In the differential privacy framework, we develop a differentially private ridge estimator by perturbing the sample covariance matrix. Then we develop a differentially private graphical lasso estimator by using the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. Furthermore, we prove theoretical results showing that the differentially private ridge estimator for the precision matrix is consistent under fixed-dimension asymptotic, and establish a convergence rate of differentially private graphical lasso estimator in the Frobenius norm as both data dimension p and sample size n are allowed to grow. The empirical results that show the utility of the proposed methods are also provided.     

Randomly censored partially linear single-index models

This paper proposes a method for estimation of a class of partially linear single-index models with randomly censored samples. The method provides a flexible way for modelling the association between a response and a set of predictor variables when the response variable is randomly censored. It presents a technique for “dimension reduction” in semiparametric censored regression models and generalizes the existing accelerated failure-time models for survival analysis. The estimation procedure involves three stages: first, transform the censored data into synthetic data or pseudo-responses unbiasedly; second, obtain quasi-likelihood estimates of the regression coefficients in both linear and single-index components by an iteratively algorithm; finally, estimate the unknown nonparametric regression function using techniques for univariate censored nonparametric regression. The estimators for the regression coefficients are shown to be jointly root-n consistent and asymptotically normal. In addition, the estimator for the unknown regression function is a local linear kernel regression estimator and can be estimated with the same efficiency as all the parameters are known. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

Variable Selection for Partially Linear Models via Adaptive LASSO

Partially linear model is a class of commonly used semiparametric models, this paper focus on variable selection and parameter estimation for partially linear models via adaptive LASSO method. Firstly, based on profile least squares and adaptive LASSO method, the adaptive LASSO estimator for partially linear models are constructed, and the selections of penalty parameter and bandwidth are discussed. Under some regular conditions, the consistency and asymptotic normality for the estimator are investigated, and it is proved that the adaptive LASSO estimator has the oracle properties. The proposed method can be easily implemented. Finally a Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to assess the finite sample performance of the proposed variable selection procedure, results show the adaptive LASSO estimator behaves well.     

Algorithms for Fitting the Constrained Lasso

We compare alternative computing strategies for solving the constrained lasso problem. As its name suggests, the constrained lasso extends the widely used lasso to handle linear constraints, which allow the user to incorporate prior information into the model. In addition to quadratic programming, we employ the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and also derive an efficient solution path algorithm. Through both simulations and benchmark data examples, we compare the different algorithms and provide practical recommendations in terms of efficiency and accuracy for various sizes of data. We also show that, for an arbitrary penalty matrix, the generalized lasso can be transformed to a constrained lasso, while the converse is not true. Thus, our methods can also be used for estimating a generalized lasso, which has wide-ranging applications. Code for implementing the algorithms is freely available in both the Matlab toolbox SparseReg and the Julia package ConstrainedLasso. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Variable selection via quantile regression with the process of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type

Based on the data-cutoff method,we study quantile regression in linear models,where the noise process is of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type with possible jumps.In single-level quantile regression,we allow the noise process to be heteroscedastic,while in composite quantile regression,we require that the noise process be homoscedastic so that the slopes are invariant across quantiles.Similar to the independent noise case,the proposed quantile estimators are root-n consistent and asymptotic normal.Furthermore,the adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)is applied for the purpose of variable selection.As a result,the quantile estimators are consistent in variable selection,and the nonzero coefficient estimators enjoy the same asymptotic distribution as their counterparts under the true model.Extensive numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed approaches and foreign exchange rate data are analyzed for the illustration purpose.     

Lag weighted lasso for time series model

The adaptive lasso can consistently identify the true model in regression model. However, the adaptive lasso cannot account for lag effects, which are essential for a time series model. Consequently, the adaptive lasso can not reflect certain properties of a time series model. To improve the forecast accuracy of a time series model, we propose a lag weighted lasso. The lag weighted lasso imposes different penalties on each coefficient based on weights that reflect not only the coefficients size but also the lag effects. Simulation studies and a real example show that the proposed method is superior to both the lasso and the adaptive lasso in forecast accuracy.     

Robust estimation in single-index models when the errors have a unimodal density with unknown nuisance parameter

This paper develops a robust profile estimation method for the parametric and nonparametric components of a single-index model when the errors have a strongly unimodal density with unknown nuisance parameter. We derive consistency results for the link function estimators as well as consistency and asymptotic distribution results for the single-index parameter estimators. Under a log-Gamma model, the sensitivity to anomalous observations is studied using the empirical influence curve. We also discuss a robust K-fold cross-validation procedure to select the smoothing parameters. A numerical study carried on with errors following a log-Gamma model and for contaminated schemes shows the good robustness properties of the proposed estimators and the advantages of considering a robust approach instead of the classical one. A real data set illustrates the use of our proposal.