Bivariate deconvolution with SIMEX: an application to mapping Alaska earthquake density

Constructing spatial density maps of seismic events, such as earthquake hypocentres, is complicated by the fact that events are not located precisely. In this paper, we present a method for estimating density maps from event locations that are measured with error. The estimator is based on the simulation–extrapolation method of estimation and is appropriate for location errors that are either homoscedastic or heteroscedastic. A simulation study shows that the estimator outperforms the standard estimator of density that ignores location errors in the data, even when location errors are spatially dependent. We apply our method to construct an estimated density map of earthquake hypocenters using data from the Alaska earthquake catalogue.     

Spectral analysis of Markov switching GARCH models with statistical inference

We derive matrix expressions in closed form for the autocovariance function and the spectral density of Markov switching GARCH models and their powers. For this, we apply the Riesz–Fischer theorem which defines the spectral representation as the Fourier transform of the autocovariance function. Under suitable assumptions, we prove that the sample estimator of the spectral density is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. Further statistical implications in terms of order identification and parameter estimation are discussed. A simulation study confirms the validity of the asymptotic properties. These methods are also well suited for financial market applications, and in particular for the analysis of time series in the frequency domain, as shown in some proposed real-world examples.     

Semiparametric estimation of the duration of immunity from infectious disease time series: influenza as a case-study

Summary.  An important epidemiological problem is to estimate the decay through time of immunity following infection. For this purpose, we propose a semiparametric time series epidemic model that is based on the mechanism of the susceptible–infected–recovered–susceptible system to analyse complex time series data. We develop an estimation method for the model. Simulations show that the approach proposed can capture the non-linearity of epidemics as well as estimate the decay of immunity. We apply our approach to influenza in France and the Netherlands and show a rapid decline in immunity following infection, which agrees with recent spatiotemporal analyses.     

Continuous-time threshold autoregressions with jumps: Properties,estimation, and application to electricity markets

Continuous-time autoregressive processes have been applied successfully in many fields and are particularly advantageous in the modeling of irregularly spaced or high-frequency time series data. A convenient nonlinear extension of this model are continuous-time threshold autoregressions (CTAR). CTAR allow for greater flexibility in model parameters and can represent a regime switching behavior. However, so far only Gaussian CTAR processes have been defined, so that this model class could not be used for data with jumps, as frequently observed in financial applications. Hence, as a novelty, we construct CTAR processes with jumps in this paper. Existence of a unique weak solution and weak consistency of an Euler approximation scheme is proven. As a closed form expression of the likelihood is not available, we use kernel-based particle filtering for estimation. We fit our model to the Physical Electricity Index and show that it describes the data better than other comparable approaches.     

时变参数状态空间模型估计研究

在宏观经济和金融资本市场上广泛存在着非线性时变参数时间序列,而当前的研究主要关注静态参数状态空间模型的估计。本文通过引入变点分析,改进了静态参数的粒子学习滤波技术,提出了变点粒子学习滤波技术,用于估计时变参数状态空间模型。并且利用模拟实验同经典的变结构IMM滤波技术进行了对比,结果显示,本文提出的变点粒子学习滤波在动态模拟样本数据方面具有更大的优势。可以用于对股票价格和成交量的联合动态轨迹进行实时的模拟追踪。     

Monitoring foreclosure rates with a spatially risk-adjusted Bernoulli CUSUM chart for concurrent observations

Frequently in process monitoring, situations arise in which the order that events occur cannot be distinguished, motivating the need to accommodate multiple observations occurring at the same time, or concurrent observations. The risk-adjusted Bernoulli cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart can be used to monitor the rate of an adverse event by fitting a risk-adjustment model, followed by a likelihood ratio-based scoring method that produces a statistic that can be monitored. In our paper, we develop a risk-adjusted Bernoulli CUSUM control chart for concurrent observations. Furthermore, we adopt a novel approach that uses a combined mixture model and kernel density estimation approach in order to perform risk-adjustment with regard to spatial location. Our proposed method allows for monitoring binary outcomes through time with multiple observations at each time point, where the chart is spatially adjusted for each Bernoulli observation's estimated probability of the adverse event. A simulation study is presented to assess the performance of the proposed monitoring scheme. We apply our method using data from Wayne County, Michigan between 2005 and 2014 to monitor the rate of foreclosure as a percentage of all housing transactions.     

Joint Modeling of Event Time and Nonignorable Missing Longitudinal Data

Survival studies usually collect on each participant, both duration until some terminal event and repeated measures of a time-dependent covariate. Such a covariate is referred to as an internal time-dependent covariate. Usually, some subjects drop out of the study before occurence of the terminal event of interest. One may then wish to evaluate the relationship between time to dropout and the internal covariate. The Cox model is a standard framework for that purpose. Here, we address this problem in situations where the value of the covariate at dropout is unobserved. We suggest a joint model which combines a first-order Markov model for the longitudinaly measured covariate with a time-dependent Cox model for the dropout process. We consider maximum likelihood estimation in this model and show how estimation can be carried out via the EM-algorithm. We state that the suggested joint model may have applications in the context of longitudinal data with nonignorable dropout. Indeed, it can be viewed as generalizing Diggle and Kenward's model (1994) to situations where dropout may occur at any point in time and may be censored. Hence we apply both models and compare their results on a data set concerning longitudinal measurements among patients in a cancer clinical trial.     

Markov switching component GARCH model: Stability and forecasting

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces an extension of the Markov switching GARCH model where the volatility in each state is a convex combination of two different GARCH components with time varying weights. This model has the dynamic behavior to capture the variants of shocks. The asymptotic behavior of the second moment is investigated and an appropriate upper bound for it is evaluated. Using the Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling algorithm, a dynamic method for the estimation of the parameters is proposed. Finally, we illustrate the efficiency of the model by simulation and also by considering two different set of empirical financial data. We show that this model provides much better forecasts of the volatility than the Markov switching GARCH model.     

Comparison of the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH,back propagation neural networks and support-vector machines in forecasting financial returns

The use of GARCH type models and computational-intelligence-based techniques for forecasting financial time series has been proved extremely successful in recent times. In this article, we apply the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH model instead of AR or ARMA models to compare with the standard BP and SVM in forecasting financial time series (daily stock market index returns and exchange rate returns). We do not apply the pure GARCH model as the finite mixture of the ARMA-GARCH model outperforms the pure GARCH model. These models are evaluated on five performance metrics or criteria. Our experiment shows that the SVM model outperforms both the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH and BP models in deviation performance criteria. In direction performance criteria, the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH model performs better. The memory property of these forecasting techniques is also examined using the behavior of forecasted values vis-à-vis the original values. Only the SVM model shows long memory property in forecasting financial returns.     

A Bayesian structural-change analysis via the stochastic approximation Monte Carlo and Gibbs sampler

In this article, we propose a Bayesian approach to estimate the multiple structural change-points in a level and the trend when the number of change-points is unknown. Our formulation of the structural-change model involves a binary discrete variable that indicates the structural change. The determination of the number and the form of structural changes are considered as a model selection issue in Bayesian structural-change analysis. We apply an advanced Monte Carlo algorithm, the stochastic approximation Monte Carlo (SAMC) algorithm, to this structural-change model selection issue. SAMC effectively functions for the complex structural-change model estimation, since it prevents entrapment in local posterior mode. The estimation of the model parameters in each regime is made using the Gibbs sampler after each change-point is detected. The performance of our proposed method has been investigated on simulated and real data sets, a long time series of US real gross domestic product, US uses of force between 1870 and 1994 and 1-year time series of temperature in Seoul, South Korea.     

Estimating models based on Markov jump processes given fragmented observation series

We consider the problem of estimating the rate matrix governing a finite-state Markov jump process given a number of fragmented time series. We propose to concatenate the observed series and to employ the emerging non-Markov process for estimation. We describe the bias arising if standard methods for Markov processes are used for the concatenated process, and provide a post-processing method to correct for this bias. This method applies to discrete-time Markov chains and to more general models based on Markov jump processes where the underlying state process is not observed directly. This is demonstrated in detail for a Markov switching model. We provide applications to simulated time series and to financial market data, where estimators resulting from maximum likelihood methods and Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling are improved using the presented correction.     

Robust nonparametric estimation of the intensity function of point data

Intensity functions—which describe the spatial distribution of the occurrences of point processes—are useful for risk assessment. This paper deals with the robust nonparametric estimation of the intensity function of space–time data from events such as earthquakes. The basic approach consists of smoothing the frequency histograms with the local polynomial regression (LPR) estimator. This method allows for automatic boundary corrections, and its jump-preserving ability can be improved with robustness. We derive a robust local smoother from the weighted-average approach to M-estimation and we select its bandwidths with robust cross-validation (RCV). Further, we develop a robust recursive algorithm for sequential processing of the data binned in time. An extensive application to the Northern California earthquake catalog in the San Francisco, CA, area illustrates the method and proves its validity.     

Value at risk estimation under stochastic volatility models using adaptive PMCMC methods

In this paper, we propose a value-at-risk (VaR) estimation technique based on a new stochastic volatility model with leverage effect, nonconstant conditional mean and jump. In order to estimate the model parameters and latent state variables, we integrate the particle filter and adaptive Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms to develop a novel adaptive particle MCMC (A-PMCMC) algorithm. Comprehensive simulation experiments based on three stock indices and two foreign exchange time series show effectiveness of the proposed A-PMCMC algorithm and the VaR estimation technique.     

CONTINUOUS-TIME FILTERS FOR STATE ESTIMATION FROM POINT PROCESS MODELS OF NEURAL DATA

Neural spike trains, the primary communication signals in the brain, can be accurately modeled as point processes. For many years, significant theoretical work has been done on the construction of exact and approximate filters for state estimation from point process observations in continuous-time. We have previously developed approximate filters for state estimation from point process observations in discrete-time and applied them in the study of neural systems. Here, we present a coherent framework for deriving continuous-time filters from their discrete-counterparts. We present an accessible derivation of the well-known unnormalized conditional density equation for state evolution, construct a new continuous-time filter based on a Gaussian approximation, and propose a method for assessing the validity of the approximation following an approach by Brockett and Clark. We apply these methods to the problem of reconstructing arm reaching movements from simulated neural spiking activity from the primary motor cortex. This work makes explicit the connections between adaptive point process filters for analyzing neural spiking activity in continuous-time, and standard continuous-time filters for state estimation from continuous and point process observations.     

Parameter estimation of the flexible Weibull distribution for type I censored samples

Often in practice one is interested in the situation where the lifetime data are censored. Censorship is a common phenomenon frequently encountered when analyzing lifetime data due to time constraints. In this paper, the flexible Weibull distribution proposed in Bebbington et al. [A flexible Weibull extension, Reliab. Eng. Syst. Safety 92 (2007), pp. 719–726] is studied using maximum likelihood technics based on three different algorithms: Newton Raphson, Levenberg Marquardt and Trust Region reflective. The proposed parameter estimation method is introduced and proved to work from theoretical and practical point of view. On one hand, we apply a maximum likelihood estimation method using complete simulated and real data. On the other hand, we study for the first time the model using simulated and real data for type I censored samples. The estimation results are approved by a statistical test.     

Two-Step Estimation of Incomplete Information Social Interaction Models With Sample Selection

ABSTRACT

This article considers linear social interaction models under incomplete information that allow for missing outcome data due to sample selection. For model estimation, assuming that each individual forms his/her belief about the other members’ outcomes based on rational expectations, we propose a two-step series nonlinear least squares estimator. Both the consistency and asymptotic normality of the estimator are established. As an empirical illustration, we apply the proposed model and method to National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data to examine the impacts of friendship interactions on adolescents’ academic achievements. We provide empirical evidence that the interaction effects are important determinants of grade point average and that controlling for sample selection bias has certain impacts on the estimation results. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

人民币汇率指数编制及其与宏观经济变量的联动分析

本文在总结国内外汇率指数编制经验教训的基础上,提出了人民币汇率指数编制的基本理论与方法,设计了一套能全方位多角度反映我国在不同市场特征下进出口竞争力状况的包含人民币发达市场汇率指数、人民币新兴市场汇率指数和人民币全市场汇率指数的指数体系编制方案。具体编制时,本文首次引入“第三方市场效应”,以全面反映我国与其他经济体之间的竞争关系,并首次使用“除数修正法”,对指数因成分货币或权重调整引起的非汇率价格因素变动进行修正,以保证指数的连续性。最后,用交叉谱分析实证发现,相对于国内外其他人民币汇率指数,本文编制的人民币汇率指数与主要宏观经济变量之间存在更强的一致性和不同情形的领先响应关系,联动更为紧密。     

Jackknife Empirical Likelihood for the Accelerated Failure Time Model with Censored Data

Kendall and Gehan estimating functions are commonly used to estimate the regression parameter in accelerated failure time model with censored observations in survival analysis. In this paper, we apply the jackknife empirical likelihood method to overcome the computation difficulty about interval estimation. A Wilks’ theorem of jackknife empirical likelihood for U-statistic type estimating equations is established, which is used to construct the confidence intervals for the regression parameter. We carry out an extensive simulation study to compare the Wald-type procedure, the empirical likelihood method, and the jackknife empirical likelihood method. The proposed jackknife empirical likelihood method has a better performance than the existing methods. We also use a real data set to compare the proposed methods.     

Estimating Intraclass Correlation Coefficient and Identifying Influential Observations Under One-Way Random Effects Model

In this paper we consider the estimation of intraclass correlation coefficient and identification of influential observations under one-way random effects model. We introduce an approach to correct negative estimation values induced by the method of moments estimator, and provide an interval estimation for intraclass correlation coefficient. We present the diagnostic tools to identify influential observations through the uncorrected estimate of intraclass correlation coefficient. A simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of our procedure for identifying influential observations. We also apply the method on a real data of repeated blood pressure measurements.