Inferences for a Partially Varying Coefficient Model With Endogenous Regressors

In this article, we propose a new class of semiparametric instrumental variable models with partially varying coefficients, in which the structural function has a partially linear form and the impact of endogenous structural variables can vary over different levels of some exogenous variables. We propose a three-step estimation procedure to estimate both functional and constant coefficients. The consistency and asymptotic normality of these proposed estimators are established. Moreover, a generalized F-test is developed to test whether the functional coefficients are of particular parametric forms with some underlying economic intuitions, and furthermore, the limiting distribution of the proposed generalized F-test statistic under the null hypothesis is established. Finally, we illustrate the finite sample performance of our approach with simulations and two real data examples in economics.     

The use of conditional cutoffs in a forward selection procedure

Using a forward selection procedure for selecting the best subset of regression variables involves the calculation of critical values (cutoffs) for an F-ratio at each step of a multistep search process. On dropping the restrictive (unrealistic) assumptions used in previous works, the null distribution of the F-ratio depends on unknown regression parameters for the variables already included in the subset. For the case of known σ, by conditioning the F-ratio on the set of regressors included so far and also on the observed (estimated) values of their regression coefficients, we obtain a forward selection procedure whose stepwise type I error does not depend on the unknown (nuisance) parameters. A numerical example with an orthogonal design matrix illustrates the difference between conditional cutoffs, cutoffs for the centralF-distribution, and cutoffs suggested by Pope and Webster.     

Choosing the best pairwise comparisons of means from non-normal populations,with unequal variances,but equal sample sizes

A Monte Carlo simulation evaluated five pairwise multiple comparison procedures for controlling Type I error rates, any-pair power, and all-pairs power. Realistic conditions of non-normality were based on a previous survey. Variance ratios were varied from 1:1 to 64:1. Procedures evaluated included Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) preceded by an F test, the Hayter–Fisher, the Games–Howell preceded by an F test, the Pertiz with F tests, and the Peritz with Alexander–Govern tests. Tukey's procedure shows the greatest robustness in Type I error control. Any-pair power is generally best with one of the Peritz procedures. All-pairs power is best with the Pertiz F test procedure. However, Tukey's HSD preceded by the Alexander–Govern F test may provide the best combination for controlling Type I and power rates in a variety of conditions of non-normality and variance heterogeneity.     

Testing for concordance between several criteria

The problem of whether the rankings of some objects given by a set of criteria (or judges) show any agreement or are more or less independent is addressed. The most familiar measure for concordance is the Kendall W coefficient. Classical tests for concordance are the Friedman test and the F test. Legendre [Species associations: the Kendall coefficient of concordance revisited. J. Agric. Biol. Environ. Stat. 2005;10(2):226–245] compared via simulation the Friedman test and its permutation version. Unfortunately, the simulation study of Legendre was very limited because it considered neither the copula aspect nor the F test. Kendall W is a rank-based correlation measure, and therefore it is not affected by the marginal distributions of the underlying variables, but only by the copula of the multivariate distribution. In this article, the simulation study of Legendre is deeply extended by considering the copula aspect as well as the F test. It is shown that the Friedman test is too conservative and less powerful than both the F test and the permutation test for concordance which always have a correct size and behave alike. The F test should be preferred because it is computationally much easier. Surprisingly, the power function of the tests is not much affected by the type of copula.     

Testing the equality of correlation matrices

We present results that extend an existing test of equality of correlation matrices. A new test statistic is proposed and is shown to be asymptotically distributed as a linear combination of independent x ² random variables. This new formulation allows us to find the power of the existing test and our extensions by deriving the distribution under the alternative using a linear combination of independent non-central x ² random variables. We also investigate the null and the alternative distribution of two related statistics. The first one is a quadratic form in deviations from a control group with which the remaining k-1 groups are to be compared. The second test is designed for comparing adjacent groups. Several approximations for the null and the alternative distribution are considered and two illustrative examples are provided.     

The geometrical interpretation of statistical tests in multivariate linear regression

A geometrical interpretation of the classical tests of the relation between two sets of variables is presented. One of the variable sets may be considered as fixed and then we have a multivariate regression model. When the Wilks’ lambda distribution is viewed geometrically it is obvious that the two special cases, theF distribution and the HotellingT ² distribution are equivalent. From the geometrical perspective it is also obvious that the test statistic and thep-value are unchanged if the responses and the predictors are interchanged.     

Selection of regress or va riables when E(Y) is an unknown honlinear function

We consider the problem of deciding which of a set of p independent variables x₁ X₂J x_s we are to regard as being functionally involved in the mean of a dependent normal random variable Y and estimating E( Y) in terms of the chosen x's. This mean is an unknown function (assumed to be doubly differentiable) of some or all of the x's, so that the problem is of wide relevance. We approximate to the hypersurface in two different ways, and select within each approximation:

(a)For the situation where the mean of Y is assumed to be a linear function of the x's, we use ono of the optimum methods of selection.

(b)More generally, in the space of the X's the function will be approximately linear in a relatively small region. Accordingly this p-dimensional space is subdivided into smaller regions by a clustering procedure, and a hyperplane if fitted with in each region to aproximate to the unknown responce surface.An adaption of an optimum-regressor-selection procedure is then used to assist in the selection of the regressors

Approximate F tests are given to choose between models, including deciding how many x's to retain. Alternatively: the application of Akaike's Extended Maximum Likelihood Principle provides another way of choosing between the models and of selecting regressor variables. The methods are applied to data on glass manufacture.     

TESTING HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE COMMON MEAN OF TWO NORMAL POPULATIONS

Three tests are considered concerning the common mean of two normal populations: (1) an F test based on a sample from one population, (2) a test based on the addition of the F statistics from independent samples from two popultions (proposed), and (3) a test based on the maximum of the F statistics from two independent samples from two populations. A condition under which test (2) is locally more powerful than test (1) is given. As the test statistic in test (2) does not follow a standard distribution, a formula for approximating the observed significance level is provided. A simulation study is used to compare the power of these tests.     

Goodness-of-fit test for uniform stochastic ordering among several distributions

The likelihood-ratio test (LRT) is considered as a goodness-of-fit test for the null hypothesis that several distribution functions are uniformly stochastically ordered. Under the null hypothesis, H₁ : F₁ ? F₂ ?···? F_N, the asymptotic distribution of the LRT statistic is a convolution of several chi-bar-square distributions each of which depends upon the location parameter. The least-favourable parameter configuration for the LRT is not unique. It can be two different types and depends on the number of distributions, the number of intervals and the significance level α. This testing method is illustrated with a data set of survival times of five groups of male fruit flies.     

An improved ranked set two‐sample mann‐whitney‐wilcoxon test

The authors present an improved ranked set two‐sample Mann‐Whitney‐Wilcoxon test for a location shift between samples from two distributions F and G. They define a function that measures the amount of information provided by each observation from the two samples, given the actual joint ranking of all the units in a set. This information function is used as a guide for improving the Pitman efficacy of the Mann‐Whitney‐Wilcoxon test. When the underlying distributions are symmetric, observations at their mode(s) must be quantified in order to gain efficiency. Analogous results are provided for asymmetric distributions.     

Testing the difference between two independent regression models

ABSTRACT

In some situations, for example, in biology or psychology studies, we wish to determine whether the linear relationship between response variable and predictor variables differs in two populations. The analysis of the covariance (ANCOVA) or, equivalently, the partial F-test approaches are the commonly used methods. In this study, the asymptotic distribution for the difference between two independent regression coefficients was established. The proposed method was used to derive the asymptotic confidence set for the difference between coefficients and hypothesis testing for the equality of the two regression models. Then a simulation study was conducted to compare the proposed method with the partial F method. The performance of the new method was comparable with that of the partial F method.     

The limiting distribution of the F-statistic from nonnormal universes

We consider a linear regression model with an unbalanced 1-fold nested error structure, where group effect and error are from nonnormal universes. The limiting distribution of the F-statistic in this model is derived, as the sample size is large and group sizes take values from a finite set of distinct integers. The result is used to approximate the F-distribution quantile and to test the significance of the random effect variance component. Results are also applicable to the F-statistic in the one-way random-effects model. The effects of departure from normality on the F-statistic distribution are given.     

BAHADUR SLOPES FOR COMPARISONS OF TESTS BASED ON RESAMPLING

Let X₁,…, X_n be random variables symmetric about θ from a common unknown distribution F_θ(x) =F(x–θ). To test the null hypothesis H₀:θ= 0 against the alternative H₁:θ > 0, permutation tests can be used at the cost of computational difficulties. This paper investigates alternative tests that are computationally simpler, notably some bootstrap tests which are compared with permutation tests. Of these the symmetrical bootstrap-f test competes very favourably with the permutation test in terms of Bahadur asymptotic efficiency, so it is a very attractive alternative.     

On testing more IFRA ordering-II

ABSTRACT

Suppose F and G are two life distribution functions. It is said that F is more IFRA (increasing failure rate average) than G (written by F ? _*G) if G^{? 1}F(x) is star-shaped on (0, ∞). In this paper, the problem of testing H₀: F = _*G against H₁: F ? _*G and F ≠ _*G is considered in both cases when G is known and when G is unknown. We propose a new test based on U-statistics and obtain the asymptotic distribution of the test statistics. The new test is compared with some well-known tests in the literature. In addition, we apply our test to a real data set in the context of reliability.     

A Bivariate Distribution Family with Specified Correlation Coefficient and Given Marginals

For given continuous distribution functions F(x) and G(y) and a Pearson correlation coefficient ρ, an algorithm is provided to construct a sequence of continuous bivariate distributions with marginals equal to F(x) and G(y) and the corresponding correlation coefficient converges to ρ. The algorithm can be easily implemented using S-Plus or R. Applications are given to generate bivariate random variables with marginals including Gamma, Beta, Weibull, and uniform distributions.     

A general non-central hypergeometric distribution

We construct a general non-central hypergeometric distribution, which models biased sampling without replacement. Our distribution is constructed from the combined order statistics of two samples: one of independent and identically distributed random variables with absolutely continuous distribution F and the other of independent and identically distributed random variables with absolutely continuous distribution G. The distribution depends on F and G only through F○G^{( ? 1)} (F composed with the quantile function of G), and the standard hypergeometric distribution and Wallenius’ non-central hypergeometric distribution arise as special cases. We show in efficient economic markets the quantity traded has a general non-central hypergeometric distribution.     

Interpretation of Canonical Discriminant Functions,Canonical Variates,and Principal Components

Canonical discriminant functions are defined here as linear combinations that separate groups of observations, and canonical variates are defined as linear combinations associated with canonical correlations between two sets of variables. In standardized form, the coefficients in either type of canonical function provide information about the joint contribution of the variables to the canonical function. The standardized coefficients can be converted to correlations between the variables and the canonical function. These correlations generally alter the interpretation of the canonical functions. For canonical discriminant functions, the standardized coefficients are compared with the correlations, with partial t and F tests, and with rotated coefficients. For canonical variates, the discussion includes standardized coefficients, correlations between variables and the function, rotation, and redundancy analysis. Various approaches to interpretation of principal components are compared: the choice between the covariance and correlation matrices, the conversion of coefficients to correlations, the rotation of the coefficients, and the effect of special patterns in the covariance and correlation matrices.     

A Stepwise AIC Method for Variable Selection in Linear Regression

In this article, we study stepwise AIC method for variable selection comparing with other stepwise method for variable selection, such as, Partial F, Partial Correlation, and Semi-Partial Correlation in linear regression modeling. Then we show mathematically that the stepwise AIC method and other stepwise methods lead to the same method as Partial F. Hence, there are more reasons to use the stepwise AIC method than the other stepwise methods for variable selection, since the stepwise AIC method is a model selection method that can be easily managed and can be widely extended to more generalized models and applied to non normally distributed data. We also treat problems that always appear in applications, that are validation of selected variables and problem of collinearity.     

Forward and backward stepping in variable selection

For stepwise regression and discriminant analysis the parameters F _in and F _out govern the inclusion and deletion of variables. The candidate variable with the biggest F—ratio is included if this exceeds F _inthe included variable with the smallest F—ratio is deleted if this is less than F _in If F _in ≧F _out; then return to a previous subset size implies improvement in the criterion measure. This result also holds for a generalization, stepwise multivariate analysis, which includes stepwise regression and discriminant analysis as special cases

Eliminations do not occur if forward regression and backward elimination yield the same sequence of subsets. Conversely, there is a more liberal stepping rule which always eliminates if the two sequences differ.     

Phase I monitoring of generalized linear model-based regression profiles

In some industrial applications, the quality of a process or product is characterized by a relationship between the response variable and one or more independent variables which is called as profile. There are many approaches for monitoring different types of profiles in the literature. Most researchers assume that the response variable follows a normal distribution. However, this assumption may be violated in many cases. The most likely situation is when the response variable follows a distribution from generalized linear models (GLMs). For example, when the response variable is the number of defects in a certain area of a product, the observations follow Poisson distribution and ignoring this fact will cause misleading results. In this paper, three methods including a T²-based method, likelihood ratio test (LRT) method and F method are developed and modified in order to be applied in monitoring GLM regression profiles in Phase I. The performance of the proposed methods is analysed and compared for the special case that the response variable follows Poisson distribution. A simulation study is done regarding the probability of the signal criterion. Results show that the LRT method performs better than two other methods and the F method performs better than the T²-based method in detecting either small or large step shifts as well as drifts. Moreover, the F method performs better than the other two methods, and the LRT method performs poor in comparison with the F and T²-based methods in detecting outliers. A real case, in which the size and number of agglomerates ejected from a volcano in successive days form the GLM profile, is illustrated and the proposed methods are applied to determine whether the number of agglomerates of each size is under statistical control or not. Results showed that the proposed methods could handle the mentioned situation and distinguish the out-of-control conditions.