Validation tests for semi-parametric models

Tests are proposed for validation of the hypothesis that a partial linear regression model adequately describes the structure of a given data set. The test statistics are formulated following the approach of Fourier-type conditional expectations first suggested by Bierens [Consistent model specification tests. J Econometr. 1982;20:105–134]. The proposed procedures are computationally convenient, and under fairly mild conditions lead to consistent tests. Corresponding bootstrap versions are compared with alternative procedures for a wide selection of different estimators of the underlying partial linear model.     

A unified approach to proving parametric bootstrap consistency for some goodness-of-fit tests

Because model misspecification can lead to inconsistent and inefficient estimators and invalid tests of hypotheses, testing for misspecification is critically important. We focus here on several general purpose goodness-of-fit tests which can be applied to assess the adequacy of a wide variety of parametric models without specifying an alternative model. Parametric bootstrap is the method of choice for computing the p-values of these tests however the proof of its consistency has never been rigourously shown in this setting. Using properties of locally asymptotically normal parametric models, we prove that under quite general conditions, the parametric bootstrap provides a consistent estimate of the null distribution of the statistics under investigation.     

The robustness, reliabiligy and power of heteroskedasticity tests

Several tests for heteroskedasticity in linear regression models are examined. Asymptoticrobustness to heterokurticity, nonnormality and skewness is discussed. The finite sample eliability of asymptotically valid tests is investigated using Monte Carlo experiments. It is found that asymptotic critical values cannot, in general. be relied upon to give good agreement between nominal and actual finite sample significance levels. The use of the bootstrap overcomes this problem for general approaches that lead to asymptotically pivotal test statistics. Power comparisons are made for bootstrap tests and modified Glejser and Koenker tests are recommended.     

Bootstrap tests: how many bootstraps?

In practice, bootstrap tests must use a finite number of bootstrap samples. This means that the outcome of the test will depend on the sequence of random numbers used to generate the bootstrap samples, and it necessarily results in some loss of power. We examine the extent of this power loss and propose a simple pretest procedure for choosing the number of bootstrap samples so as to minimize experimental randomness. Simulation experiments suggest that this procedure will work very well in practice.     

On a multidimensional general bootstrap for empirical estimator of continuous-time semi-Markov kernels with applications

The present paper introduces a general notion and presents results of bootstrapped empirical estimators of the semi-Markov kernels and of the conditional transition distributions for semi-Markov processes with countable state space, constructed by exchangeably weighting the sample. Our proposal provides a unification of bootstrap methods in the semi-Markov setting including, in particular, Efron's bootstrap. Asymptotic properties of these generalised bootstrapped empirical distributions are obtained, under mild conditions by a martingale approach. We also obtain some new results on the weak convergence of the empirical semi-Markov processes. We apply these general results in several statistical problems such as the construction of confidence bands and the goodness-of-fit tests where the limiting distributions are derived under the null hypothesis. Finally, we introduce the quantile estimators and their bootstrapped versions in the semi-Markov framework and we establish their limiting laws by using the functional delta methods. Our theoretical results and numerical examples by simulations demonstrate the merits of the proposed techniques.     

Bootstrap-based bias corrections for INAR count time series

Integer-valued autoregressive (INAR) processes form a very useful class of processes suitable to model time series of counts. Several practically relevant estimators based on INAR data are known to be systematically biased away from their population values, e.g. sample autocovariances, sample autocorrelations, or the dispersion index. We propose to do bias correction for such estimators by using a recently proposed INAR-type bootstrap scheme that is tailor-made for INAR processes, and which has been proven to be asymptotically consistent under general conditions. This INAR bootstrap allows an implementation with and without parametrically specifying the innovations' distribution. To judge the potential of corresponding bias correction, we compare these bootstraps in simulations to several competitors that include the AR bootstrap and block bootstrap. Finally, we conclude with an illustrative data application.     

On testing inference in beta regressions

This article deals with testing inference in the class of beta regression models with varying dispersion. We focus on inference in small samples. We perform a numerical analysis in order to evaluate the sizes and powers of different tests. We consider the likelihood ratio test, two adjusted likelihood ratio tests proposed by Ferrari and Pinheiro [Improved likelihood inference in beta regression, J. Stat. Comput. Simul. 81 (2011), pp. 431–443], the score test, the Wald test and bootstrap versions of the likelihood ratio, score and Wald tests. We perform tests on the parameters that index the mean submodel and also on the parameters in the linear predictor of the precision submodel. Overall, the numerical evidence favours the bootstrap tests. It is also shown that the score test is considerably less size-distorted than the likelihood ratio and Wald tests. An application that uses real (not simulated) data is presented and discussed.     

Approximations to the p-values of tests for a change-point under non-standard conditions

Three test statistics for a change-point in a linear model, variants of those considered by Andrews and Ploberger [Optimal tests when a nusiance parameter is present only under the alternative. Econometrica. 1994;62:1383–1414]: the sup-likelihood ratio (LR) statistic; a weighted average of the exponential of LR-statistics and a weighted average of LR-statistics, are studied. Critical values for the statistics with time trend regressors, obtained via simulation, are found to vary considerably, depending on conditions on the error terms. The performance of the bootstrap in approximating p-values of the distributions is assessed in a simulation study. A sample approximation to asymptotic analytical expressions extending those of Kim and Siegmund [The likelihood ratio test for a change-point in simple linear regression. Biometrika. 1989;76:409–423] in the case of the sup-LR test is also assessed. The approximations and bootstrap are applied to the Quandt data [The estimation of a parameter of a linear regression system obeying two separate regimes. J Amer Statist Assoc. 1958;53:873–880] and real data concerning a change-point in oxygen uptake during incremental exercise testing and the bootstrap gives reasonable results.     

Heteroskedasticity-consistent interval estimators

The linear regression model is commonly used in applications. One of the assumptions made is that the error variances are constant across all observations. This assumption, known as homoskedasticity, is frequently violated in practice. A commonly used strategy is to estimate the regression parameters by ordinary least squares and to compute standard errors that deliver asymptotically valid inference under both homoskedasticity and heteroskedasticity of an unknown form. Several consistent standard errors have been proposed in the literature, and evaluated in numerical experiments based on their point estimation performance and on the finite sample behaviour of associated hypothesis tests. We build upon the existing literature by constructing heteroskedasticity-consistent interval estimators and numerically evaluating their finite sample performance. Different bootstrap interval estimators are also considered. The numerical results favour the HC4 interval estimator.     

The resampling of entropies with the application of biodiversity

This paper discusses the bootstrap test of entropies. Since the comparison of entropies is of prime interest in applied fields, finding an appropriate way to carry out such a comparison is of utmost importance. This paper presents how resampling should be performed to obtain an accurate p-value. Although the test using a pair-wise bootstrap confidence interval (CI) has already been dealt with in few works, here the bootstrap tests are studied because it may demand quite a different resampling algorithm compared with the CI. Moreover, the multiple test is studied. The proposed tests appear to yield several appreciable advantages. The easy implementation and the power of the proposed test can be considered as advantages. Here the entropy of the discrete variable is studied. The proposed tests are examined using Monte Carlo investigations and also evaluated using various distributions.     

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.     

Confidence intervals centred on bootstrap smoothed estimators

Bootstrap smoothed (bagged) parameter estimators have been proposed as an improvement on estimators found after preliminary data‐based model selection. A result of Efron in 2014 is a very convenient and widely applicable formula for a delta method approximation to the standard deviation of the bootstrap smoothed estimator. This approximation provides an easily computed guide to the accuracy of this estimator. In addition, Efron considered a confidence interval centred on the bootstrap smoothed estimator, with width proportional to the estimate of this approximation to the standard deviation. We evaluate this confidence interval in the scenario of two nested linear regression models, the full model and a simpler model, and a preliminary test of the null hypothesis that the simpler model is correct. We derive computationally convenient expressions for the ideal bootstrap smoothed estimator and the coverage probability and expected length of this confidence interval. In terms of coverage probability, this confidence interval outperforms the post‐model‐selection confidence interval with the same nominal coverage and based on the same preliminary test. We also compare the performance of the confidence interval centred on the bootstrap smoothed estimator, in terms of expected length, to the usual confidence interval, with the same minimum coverage probability, based on the full model.     

The power of bootstrap based tests for parameters in cointegrating regressions

Several asymptotic procedures have been suggested for inference on cointegrating parameters. But the tests based on asymptotic theory have been found to have substantial size distortions. The present paper shows that the bootstrap method gives the proper test sizes and that the power of the bootstrap based tests is satisfactory.     

An Empirical Process View of Inverse Regression

A common approach taken in high‐dimensional regression analysis is sliced inverse regression, which separates the range of the response variable into non‐overlapping regions, called ‘slices’. Asymptotic results are usually shown assuming that the slices are fixed, while in practice, estimators are computed with random slices containing the same number of observations. Based on empirical process theory, we present a unified theoretical framework to study these techniques, and revisit popular inverse regression estimators. Furthermore, we introduce a bootstrap methodology that reproduces the laws of Cramér–von Mises test statistics of interest to model dimension, effects of specified covariates and whether or not a sliced inverse regression estimator is appropriate. Finally, we investigate the accuracy of different bootstrap procedures by means of simulations.     

Inference on constant stress accelerated life tests for log-location-scale lifetime distributions with type-I hybrid censoring

In this paper, we consider a constant stress accelerated life test terminated by a hybrid Type-I censoring at the first stress level. The model is based on a general log-location-scale lifetime distribution with mean life being a linear function of stress and with constant scale. We obtain the maximum likelihood estimators (MLE) and the approximate maximum likelihood estimators (AMLE) of the model parameters. Approximate confidence intervals, likelihood ratio tests and two bootstrap methods are used to construct confidence intervals for the unknown parameters of the Weibull and lognormal distributions using the MLEs. Finally, a simulation study and two illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate the performance of the developed inferential methods.     

On the estimation of the true probability of a correct selection

For ranking and selection problems, the true probabiIity of a correct selection P(CS) is unknown even if a selection is made under the indifference-zone approach. Thus to estimate the true P(CS) some Bayes estimators and a bootstrap estimator are proposed for two normcal populations with common known variance. Also a bootstrap estimator and a bootstrap confidence interval are proposed for normal populations with common unknown variance. Some comparisons between proposed estimators and some other known estimators are made via Monte Carlo simulations.     

Polynomial Spline Estimation for a Generalized Additive Coefficient Model

Abstract.  We study a semiparametric generalized additive coefficient model (GACM), in which linear predictors in the conventional generalized linear models are generalized to unknown functions depending on certain covariates, and approximate the non-parametric functions by using polynomial spline. The asymptotic expansion with optimal rates of convergence for the estimators of the non-parametric part is established. Semiparametric generalized likelihood ratio test is also proposed to check if a non-parametric coefficient can be simplified as a parametric one. A conditional bootstrap version is suggested to approximate the distribution of the test under the null hypothesis. Extensive Monte Carlo simulation studies are conducted to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed methods. We further apply the proposed model and methods to a data set from a human visceral Leishmaniasis study conducted in Brazil from 1994 to 1997. Numerical results outperform the traditional generalized linear model and the proposed GACM is preferable.     

A CONSISTENT MODEL SPECIFICATION TEST BASED ON THE KERNEL SUM OF SQUARES OF RESIDUALS

This paper constructs a consistent model specification test based on the difference between the nonparametric kernel sum of squares of residuals and the sum of squares of residuals from a parametric null model. We establish the asymptotic normality of the proposed test statistic under the null hypothesis of correct parametric specification and show that the wild bootstrap method can be used to approximate the null distribution of the test statistic. Results from a small simulation study are reported to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed tests.     

A CONTINUOUSLY ADAPTIVE RANK TEST FOR SHIFT IN LOCATION

This paper considers the problem of testing for shift in location when the symmetry of the underlying distribution is in doubt. Various adaptive test procedures have been suggested in the literature; they are mainly based on a preliminary test or measure of asymmetry, and then choosing between the sign or the Wilcoxon tests accordingly. However, as this paper demonstrates, there are some disadvantages with such procedures. This paper develops a test that does not suffer from such disadvantages. The proposed test is based on modifying the Wilcoxon scores according to the evidence of asymmetry of the distribution present in the data as indicated by the magnitude of the P‐value from a preliminary test of symmetry. A simulation study investigates and compares the performance of the proposed test and other known adaptive procedures in terms of power and attainment of the nominal size. The performance of a suitable bootstrap procedure for the situation under consideration is also studied. In most cases under consideration, the proposed test is found to be superior to the other tests.     

A Monte Carlo comparison of three consistent bootstrap procedures

Since bootstrap samples are simple random samples with replacement from the original sample, the information content of some bootstrap samples can be very low. To avoid this fact, several variants of the classical bootstrap have been proposed. In this paper, we consider two of them: the sequential or Poisson bootstrap and the reduced bootstrap. Both of these, like the ordinary bootstrap, can yield second-order accurate distribution estimators, that is, the three bootstrap procedures are asymptotically equivalent. The question that naturally arises is which of them should be used in a practical situation, in other words, which of them should be used for finite sample sizes. To try to answer this question, we have carried out a simulation study. Although no method was found to exhibit best performance in all the considered situations, some recommendations are given.