Conditional mode estimation for functional stationary ergodic data with responses missing at random

In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic properties of a non-parametric conditional mode estimation given a functional explanatory variable, when functional stationary ergodic data and missing at random responses are observed. First of all, we establish asymptotic properties for a conditional density estimator from which we derive almost sure convergence (with rate) and asymptotic normality of a conditional mode estimator. This new estimate take into account missing data, and a simulation study is performed to illustrate how this fact allows to get higher predictive performances than those obtained with standard estimates.     

NONPARAMETRIC REGRESSION ON FUNCTIONAL DATA: INFERENCE AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

We consider the problem of predicting a real random variable from a functional explanatory variable. The problem is tackled using a nonparametric kernel approach, which has been recently adapted to this functional context. We derive theoretical results from a deep asymptotic analysis of the behaviour of the estimate, including mean squared convergence (with rates and precise evaluation of the constant terms) as well as asymptotic distribution. Practical use of these results relies on the ability to estimate these constants. Some perspectives in this direction are discussed. In particular, a functional version of wild bootstrapping ideas is proposed and used both on simulated and real functional datasets.     

基于互信息的变量选择方法

文章基于解释变量与被解释变量之间的互信息提出一种新的变量选择方法:MI-SIS。该方法可以处理解释变量数目p远大于观测样本量n的超高维问题,即p=O(exp(nε))ε>0。另外,该方法是一种不依赖于模型假设的变量选择方法。数值模拟和实证研究表明,MI-SIS方法在小样本情形下能够有效地发现微弱信号。     

Bootstrap in functional linear regression

We have considered the functional linear model with scalar response and functional explanatory variable. One of the most popular methodologies for estimating the model parameter is based on functional principal components analysis (FPCA). In recent literature, weak convergence for a wide class of FPCA-type estimates has been proved, and consequently asymptotic confidence sets can be built. In this paper, we have proposed an alternative approach in order to obtain pointwise confidence intervals by means of a bootstrap procedure, for which we have obtained its asymptotic validity. Besides, a simulation study allows us to compare the practical behaviour of asymptotic and bootstrap confidence intervals in terms of coverage rates for different sample sizes.     

Robust location estimation with missing data

In a missing data setting, we have a sample in which a vector of explanatory variables ${\bf x}_i$ is observed for every subject i, while scalar responses $y_i$ are missing by happenstance on some individuals. In this work we propose robust estimators of the distribution of the responses assuming missing at random (MAR) data, under a semiparametric regression model. Our approach allows the consistent estimation of any weakly continuous functional of the response's distribution. In particular, strongly consistent estimators of any continuous location functional, such as the median, L‐functionals and M‐functionals, are proposed. A robust fit for the regression model combined with the robust properties of the location functional gives rise to a robust recipe for estimating the location parameter. Robustness is quantified through the breakdown point of the proposed procedure. The asymptotic distribution of the location estimators is also derived. The proofs of the theorems are presented in Supplementary Material available online. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 41: 111–132; 2013 © 2012 Statistical Society of Canada     

Small area estimation of the mean using non-parametric M-quantile regression: a comparison when a linear mixed model does not hold

The demand for reliable statistics in subpopulations, when only reduced sample sizes are available, has promoted the development of small area estimation methods. In particular, an approach that is now widely used is based on the seminal work by Battese et al. [An error-components model for prediction of county crop areas using survey and satellite data, J. Am. Statist. Assoc. 83 (1988), pp. 28–36] that uses linear mixed models (MM). We investigate alternatives when a linear MM does not hold because, on one side, linearity may not be assumed and/or, on the other, normality of the random effects may not be assumed. In particular, Opsomer et al. [Nonparametric small area estimation using penalized spline regression, J. R. Statist. Soc. Ser. B 70 (2008), pp. 265–283] propose an estimator that extends the linear MM approach to the case in which a linear relationship may not be assumed using penalized splines regression. From a very different perspective, Chambers and Tzavidis [M-quantile models for small area estimation, Biometrika 93 (2006), pp. 255–268] have recently proposed an approach for small-area estimation that is based on M-quantile (MQ) regression. This allows for models robust to outliers and to distributional assumptions on the errors and the area effects. However, when the functional form of the relationship between the qth MQ and the covariates is not linear, it can lead to biased estimates of the small area parameters. Pratesi et al. [Semiparametric M-quantile regression for estimating the proportion of acidic lakes in 8-digit HUCs of the Northeastern US, Environmetrics 19(7) (2008), pp. 687–701] apply an extended version of this approach for the estimation of the small area distribution function using a non-parametric specification of the conditional MQ of the response variable given the covariates [M. Pratesi, M.G. Ranalli, and N. Salvati, Nonparametric m-quantile regression using penalized splines, J. Nonparametric Stat. 21 (2009), pp. 287–304]. We will derive the small area estimator of the mean under this model, together with its mean-squared error estimator and compare its performance to the other estimators via simulations on both real and simulated data.     

Asymptotic normality of locally modelled regression estimator for functional data

We focus on the nonparametric regression of a scalar response on a functional explanatory variable. As an alternative to the well-known Nadaraya-Watson estimator for regression function in this framework, the locally modelled regression estimator performs very well [cf. [Barrientos-Marin, J., Ferraty, F., and Vieu, P. (2010), ‘Locally Modelled Regression and Functional Data’, Journal of Nonparametric Statistics, 22, 617–632]. In this paper, the asymptotic properties of locally modelled regression estimator for functional data are considered. The mean-squared convergence as well as asymptotic normality for the estimator are established. We also adapt the empirical likelihood method to construct the point-wise confidence intervals for the regression function and derive the Wilk's phenomenon for the empirical likelihood inference. Furthermore, a simulation study is presented to illustrate our theoretical results.     

Evaluation of process capability in multivariate nonlinear profiles

ABSTRACT

Process capability indices measure the ability of a process to provide products that meet certain specifications. Few references deal with the capability of a process characterized by a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables, which is called profile. Specifically, there is not any reference analysing the capability of processes characterized by multivariate nonlinear profiles. In this paper, we propose a method to measure the capability of these processes, based on principal components for multivariate functional data and the concept of functional depth. A simulation study is conducted to assess the performance of the proposed method. An example from the sugar production illustrates the applicability of this approach.     

Estimating the population mean in the case of missing data using simple random sampling

In this paper, we suggest three new ratio estimators of the population mean using quartiles of the auxiliary variable when there are missing data from the sample units. The suggested estimators are investigated under the simple random sampling method. We obtain the mean square errors equations for these estimators. The suggested estimators are compared with the sample mean and ratio estimators in the case of missing data. Also, they are compared with estimators in Singh and Horn [Compromised imputation in survey sampling, Metrika 51 (2000), pp. 267–276], Singh and Deo [Imputation by power transformation, Statist. Papers 45 (2003), pp. 555–579], and Kadilar and Cingi [Estimators for the population mean in the case of missing data, Commun. Stat.-Theory Methods, 37 (2008), pp. 2226–2236] and present under which conditions the proposed estimators are more efficient than other estimators. In terms of accuracy and of the coverage of the bootstrap confidence intervals, the suggested estimators performed better than other estimators.     

Kernel estimations for multivariate density functional with bootstrap

In this article the bootstrap method is discussed for the kernel estimation of the multivariate density function. We have considered sample mean functional and constructed its consistency and asymptotic normality by bootstrap estimator. It has been shown that the bootstrap works for kernel estimates of multivariate density functional. The convergence rate with bootstrap for density has been proved. Finally, two simulations of application are given.     

Consistency of the recursive nonparametric regression estimation for dependent functional data

We consider the recursive estimation of a regression functional where the explanatory variables take values in some functional space. We prove the almost sure convergence of such estimates for dependent functional data. Also we derive the mean quadratic error of the considered class of estimators. Our results are established with rates and asymptotic appear bounds, under strong mixing condition. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed estimator is illustrated throughout an empirical study.     

When does Heckman’s two-step procedure for censored data work and when does it not?

Heckman’s two-step procedure (Heckit) for estimating the parameters in linear models from censored data is frequently used by econometricians, despite of the fact that earlier studies cast doubt on the procedure. In this paper it is shown that estimates of the hazard h for approaching the censoring limit, the latter being used as an explanatory variable in the second step of the Heckit, can induce multicollinearity. The influence of the censoring proportion and sample size upon bias and variance in three types of random linear models are studied by simulations. From these results a simple relation is established that describes how absolute bias depends on the censoring proportion and the sample size. It is also shown that the Heckit may work with non-normal (Laplace) distributions, but it collapses if h deviates too much from that of the normal distribution. Data from a study of work resumption after sick-listing are used to demonstrate that the Heckit can be very risky.     

Bayesian semiparametric models for nonignorable missing mechanisms in generalized linear models

Semiparametric models provide a more flexible form for modeling the relationship between the response and the explanatory variables. On the other hand in the literature of modeling for the missing variables, canonical form of the probability of the variable being missing (p) is modeled taking a fully parametric approach. Here we consider a regression spline based semiparametric approach to model the missingness mechanism of nonignorably missing covariates. In this model the relationship between the suitable canonical form of p (e.g. probit p) and the missing covariate is modeled through several splines. A Bayesian procedure is developed to efficiently estimate the parameters. A computationally advantageous prior construction is proposed for the parameters of the semiparametric part. A WinBUGS code is constructed to apply Gibbs sampling to obtain the posterior distributions. We show through an extensive Monte Carlo simulation experiment that response model coefficent estimators maintain better (when the true missingness mechanism is nonlinear) or equivalent (when the true missingness mechanism is linear) bias and efficiency properties with the use of proposed semiparametric missingness model compared to the conventional model.     

Partially functional linear varying coefficient model

In this paper, we introduce a new partially functional linear varying coefficient model, where the response is a scalar and some of the covariates are functional. By means of functional principal components analysis and local linear smoothing techniques, we obtain the estimators of coefficient functions of both function-valued variable and real-valued variables. Then the rates of convergence of the proposed estimators and the mean squared prediction error are established under some regularity conditions. Moreover, we develop a hypothesis test for the model and employ the bootstrap procedure to evaluate the null distribution of test statistic and the p-value of the test. At last, we illustrate the finite sample performance of our methods with some simulation studies and a real data application.     

Functional Coefficient Regression Models for Non-linear Time Series: A Polynomial Spline Approach

Abstract.  We propose a global smoothing method based on polynomial splines for the estimation of functional coefficient regression models for non-linear time series. Consistency and rate of convergence results are given to support the proposed estimation method. Methods for automatic selection of the threshold variable and significant variables (or lags) are discussed. The estimated model is used to produce multi-step-ahead forecasts, including interval forecasts and density forecasts. The methodology is illustrated by simulations and two real data examples.     

The p-values for one-sided hypothesis testing in univariate linear calibration

In this article, we focus on the one-sided hypothesis testing for the univariate linear calibration, where a normally distributed response variable and an explanatory variable are involved. The observations of the response variable corresponding to known values of the explanatory variable are used to make inferences on a single unknown value of the explanatory variable. We apply the generalized inference to the calibration problem, and take the generalized p-value as the test statistic to develop a new p-value for one-sided hypothesis testing, which we refer to as the one-sided posterior predictive p-value. The behavior of the one-sided posterior predictive p-value is numerically compared with that of the generalized p-value, and simulations show that the proposed p-value is quite satisfactory in the frequentist performance.     

Recursive kernel estimate of the conditional quantile for functional ergodic data

ABSTRACT

In this article, we study the recursive kernel estimator of the conditional quantile of a scalar response variable Y given a random variable (rv) X taking values in a semi-metric space. Two estimators are considered. While the first one is given by inverting the double-kernel estimate of the conditional distribution function, the second estimator is obtained by using the robust approach. We establish the almost complete consistency of these estimates when the observations are sampled from a functional ergodic process. Finally, a simulation study is carried out to illustrate the finite sample performance of these estimators.     

Two-step calibration of design weights under two auxiliary variables in sample survey

Calibration on the available auxiliary variables is widely used to increase the precision of the estimates of parameters. Singh and Sedory [Two-step calibration of design weights in survey sampling. Commun Stat Theory Methods. 2016;45(12):3510–3523.] considered the problem of calibration of design weights under two-step for single auxiliary variable. For a given sample, design weights and calibrated weights are set proportional to each other, in the first step. While, in the second step, the value of proportionality constant is determined on the basis of objectives of individual investigator/user for, for example, to get minimum mean squared error or reduction of bias. In this paper, we have suggested to use two auxiliary variables for two-step calibration of the design weights and compared the results with single auxiliary variable for different sample sizes based on simulated and real-life data set. The simulated and real-life application results show that two-auxiliary variables based two-step calibration estimator outperforms the estimator under single auxiliary variable in terms of minimum mean squared error.     

High breakdown point robust estimators with missing data

In this paper, we propose a new procedure to estimate the distribution of a variable y when there are missing data. To compensate the presence of missing responses, it is assumed that a covariate vector x is observed and that y and x are related by means of a semi-parametric regression model. Observed residuals are combined with predicted values to estimate the missing response distribution. Once the responses distribution is consistently estimated, we can estimate any parameter defined through a continuous functional T using a plug in procedure. We prove that the proposed estimators have high breakdown point.     

A comparative study of doubly robust estimators of the mean with missing data

Doubly robust (DR) estimators of the mean with missing data are compared. An estimator is DR if either the regression of the missing variable on the observed variables or the missing data mechanism is correctly specified. One method is to include the inverse of the propensity score as a linear term in the imputation model [D. Firth and K.E. Bennett, Robust models in probability sampling, J. R. Statist. Soc. Ser. B. 60 (1998), pp. 3–21; D.O. Scharfstein, A. Rotnitzky, and J.M. Robins, Adjusting for nonignorable drop-out using semiparametric nonresponse models (with discussion), J. Am. Statist. Assoc. 94 (1999), pp. 1096–1146; H. Bang and J.M. Robins, Doubly robust estimation in missing data and causal inference models, Biometrics 61 (2005), pp. 962–972]. Another method is to calibrate the predictions from a parametric model by adding a mean of the weighted residuals [J.M Robins, A. Rotnitzky, and L.P. Zhao, Estimation of regression coefficients when some regressors are not always observed, J. Am. Statist. Assoc. 89 (1994), pp. 846–866; D.O. Scharfstein, A. Rotnitzky, and J.M. Robins, Adjusting for nonignorable drop-out using semiparametric nonresponse models (with discussion), J. Am. Statist. Assoc. 94 (1999), pp. 1096–1146]. The penalized spline propensity prediction (PSPP) model includes the propensity score into the model non-parametrically [R.J.A. Little and H. An, Robust likelihood-based analysis of multivariate data with missing values, Statist. Sin. 14 (2004), pp. 949–968; G. Zhang and R.J. Little, Extensions of the penalized spline propensity prediction method of imputation, Biometrics, 65(3) (2008), pp. 911–918]. All these methods have consistency properties under misspecification of regression models, but their comparative efficiency and confidence coverage in finite samples have received little attention. In this paper, we compare the root mean square error (RMSE), width of confidence interval and non-coverage rate of these methods under various mean and response propensity functions. We study the effects of sample size and robustness to model misspecification. The PSPP method yields estimates with smaller RMSE and width of confidence interval compared with other methods under most situations. It also yields estimates with confidence coverage close to the 95% nominal level, provided the sample size is not too small.