Comparisons of asymptotic biases and variances of m-estimators of scale under asymmetric contamination

We study robustness properties of two types of M-estimators of scale when both location and scale parameters are unknown: (i) the scale estimator arising from simultaneous M-estimation of location and scale; and (ii) its symmetrization about the sample median. The robustness criteria considered are maximal asymptotic bias and maximal asymptotic variance when the known symmetric unimodal error distribution is subject to unknown, possibly asymmetric, £-con-tamination. Influence functions and asymptotic variance functionals are derived, and computations of asymptotic biases and variances, under the normal distribution with ε-contamination at oo, are presented for the special subclass arising from Huber's Proposal 2 and its symmetrized version. Symmetrization is seen to reduce both asymptotic bias and variance. Some complementary theoretical results are obtained, and the tradeoff between asymptotic bias and variance is discussed.     

Orthogonal polynomials generated by random vectors

Every random q-vector with finite moments generates a set of orthonormal polynomials. These are generated from the basis functions xn = xn11…xnqq using Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization. One can cycle through these basis functions using any number of ways. Here, we give results using minimum cycling. The polynomials look simpler when centered about the mean of X, and still simpler form when X is symmetric about zero. This leads to an extension of the multivariate Hermite polynomial for a general random vector symmetric about zero. As an example, the results are applied to the multivariate normal distribution.     

A Single Form for t-Distributions and Symmetric Beta Distributions

A single parametric form is given for the symmetric distributions in the Pearson system with finite variance. In effect, these are Student's t-distributions with ν > 2 and all centered symmetric beta distributions. A different parametrization allows the inclusion of the t-distributions with ν ≤2 at the expense of symmetric beta distributions with a low shape parameter.     

On approximating the central and noncentral multivariate gamma distributions

In this paper a finite series approximation involving Laguerre polynomials is derived for central and noncentral multivariate gamma distributions. It is shown that if one approximates the density of any k nonnegative continuous random variables by a finite series of Laguerre polynomials up to the (n₁, …, n_k)th degree, then all the mixed moments up to the order (n₁, …, n_k) of the approximated distribution equal to the mixed moments up to the same order of the random variables. Some numerical results are given for the bivariate central and noncentral multivariate gamma distributions to indicate the usefulness of the approximations.     

Optimal estimation for finite population mean in two-phase sampling

Using two-phase sampling scheme, we propose a general class of estimators for finite population mean. This class depends on the sample means and variances of two auxiliary variables. The minimum variance bound for any estimator in the class is provided (up to terms of ordern ⁻¹). It is also proved that there exists at least a chain regression type estimator which reaches this minimum. Finally, it is shown that other proposed estimators can reach the minimum variance bound, i.e. the optimal estimator is not unique.     

Properties of Coherent Systems with Dependent Components

We introduce two new families of univariate distributions that we call hyperminimal and hypermaximal distributions. These families have interesting applications in the context of reliability theory in that they contain that of coherent system lifetime distributions. For these families, we obtain distributions, bounds, and moments. We also define the minimal and maximal signatures of a coherent system with exchangeable components which allow us to represent the system distribution as generalized mixtures (i.e., mixtures with possibly negative weights) of series and parallel systems. These results can also be applied to order statistics (k-out-of-n systems). Finally, we give some applications studying coherent systems with different multivariate exponential joint distributions.     

Model-based clustering with non-elliptically contoured distributions

The majority of the existing literature on model-based clustering deals with symmetric components. In some cases, especially when dealing with skewed subpopulations, the estimate of the number of groups can be misleading; if symmetric components are assumed we need more than one component to describe an asymmetric group. Existing mixture models, based on multivariate normal distributions and multivariate t distributions, try to fit symmetric distributions, i.e. they fit symmetric clusters. In the present paper, we propose the use of finite mixtures of the normal inverse Gaussian distribution (and its multivariate extensions). Such finite mixture models start from a density that allows for skewness and fat tails, generalize the existing models, are tractable and have desirable properties. We examine both the univariate case, to gain insight, and the multivariate case, which is more useful in real applications. EM type algorithms are described for fitting the models. Real data examples are used to demonstrate the potential of the new model in comparison with existing ones.     

Upper and lower bounds on the variances of linear combinations of the kth records

We describe a method of determining upper bounds on the variances of linear combinations of the kth records values from i.i.d. sequences, expressed in terms of variances of parent distributions. We also present conditions for which the bounds are sharp, and those for which the respective lower ones are equal to zero. A special attention is paid to the case of the kth record spacings, i.e. the differences of consecutive kth record values.     

Zonal Polynomials and Hypergeometric Functions of Quaternion Matrix Argument

We define zonal polynomials of quaternion matrix argument and deduce some impor-tant formulae of zonal polynomials and hypergeometric functions of quaternion matrix argument. As an application, we give the distributions of the largest and smallest eigenvalues of a quaternion central Wishart matrix W ～ ?W(n, Σ), respectively.     

Improved Score Tests in Symmetric Linear Regression Models

The class of symmetric linear regression models has the normal linear regression model as a special case and includes several models that assume that the errors follow a symmetric distribution with longer-than-normal tails. An important member of this class is the t linear regression model, which is commonly used as an alternative to the usual normal regression model when the data contain extreme or outlying observations. In this article, we develop second-order asymptotic theory for score tests in this class of models. We obtain Bartlett-corrected score statistics for testing hypotheses on the regression and the dispersion parameters. The corrected statistics have chi-squared distributions with errors of order O(n ^?3/2), n being the sample size. The corrections represent an improvement over the corresponding original Rao's score statistics, which are chi-squared distributed up to errors of order O(n ^?1). Simulation results show that the corrected score tests perform much better than their uncorrected counterparts in samples of small or moderate size.     

Two separate effects of variance heterogeneity on the validity and power of significance tests of location

Heterogeneity of variances of treatment groups influences the validity and power of significance tests of location in two distinct ways. First, if sample sizes are unequal, the Type I error rate and power are depressed if a larger variance is associated with a larger sample size, and elevated if a larger variance is associated with a smaller sample size. This well-established effect, which occurs in t and F tests, and to a lesser degree in nonparametric rank tests, results from unequal contributions of pooled estimates of error variance in the computation of test statistics. It is observed in samples from normal distributions, as well as non-normal distributions of various shapes. Second, transformation of scores from skewed distributions with unequal variances to ranks produces differences in the means of the ranks assigned to the respective groups, even if the means of the initial groups are equal, and a subsequent inflation of Type I error rates and power. This effect occurs for all sample sizes, equal and unequal. For the t test, the discrepancy diminishes, and for the Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test, it becomes larger, as sample size increases. The Welch separate-variance t test overcomes the first effect but not the second. Because of interaction of these separate effects, the validity and power of both parametric and nonparametric tests performed on samples of any size from unknown distributions with possibly unequal variances can be distorted in unpredictable ways.     

A zero-one law for large order statistics

Fix r ≥ 1, and let {M_nr} be the rth largest of {X₁,X₂,…X_n}, where X₁,X₂,… is a sequence of i.i.d. random variables with distribution function F. It is proved that P[M_nr ≤ u_n i.o.] = 0 or 1 according as the series Σ^∞_n=3Fⁿ(u_n)(log log n)^r/n converges or diverges, for any real sequence {u_n} such that n{1 -F(u_n)} is nondecreasing and divergent. This generalizes a result of Bamdorff-Nielsen (1961) in the case r = 1.     

Extremum sieve estimation in k-out-of-n systems

This article considers the non parametric estimation of absolutely continuous distribution functions of independent lifetimes of non identical components in k-out-of-n systems, 2 ? k ? n, from the observed “autopsy” data. In economics, ascending “button” or “clock” auctions with n heterogeneous bidders with independent private values present 2-out-of-n systems. Classical competing risks models are examples of n-out-of-n systems. Under weak conditions on the underlying distributions, the estimation problem is shown to be well-posed and the suggested extremum sieve estimator is proven to be consistent. This article considers the sieve spaces of Bernstein polynomials which allow to easily implement constraints on the monotonicity of estimated distribution functions.     

Performance of confidence interval tests for the ratio of two lognormal means applied to Weibull and gamma distribution data

Five estimation approaches have been developed to compute the confidence interval (CI) for the ratio of two lognormal means: (1) T, the CI based on the t-test procedure; (2) ML, a traditional maximum likelihood-based approach; (3) BT, a bootstrap approach; (4) R, the signed log-likelihood ratio statistic; and (5) R*, the modified signed log-likelihood ratio statistic. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of these five approaches when applied to distributions other than lognormal distribution, for which they were derived. Performance was assessed in terms of average length and coverage probability of the CIs for each estimation approaches (i.e., T, ML, BT, R, and R*) when data followed a Weibull or gamma distribution. Four models were discussed in this study. In Model 1, the sample sizes and variances were equal within the two groups. In Model 2, the sample sizes were equal but variances were different within the two groups. In Model 3, the variances were different within the two groups and the larger variance was paired with the larger sample size. In Model 4, the variances were different within the two groups and the larger variance was paired with the smaller sample size. The results showed that when the variances of the two groups were equal, the t-test performed well, no matter what the underlying distribution was and how large the variances of the two groups were. The BT approach performed better than the others when the underlying distribution was not lognormal distribution, although it was inaccurate when the variances were large. The R* test did not perform well when the underlying distribution was Weibull or gamma distributed data, but it performed best when the data followed a lognormal distribution.     

A decomposition of the Bradley–Blackwood paired-samples omnibus test

We show that the Bradley–Blackwood simultaneous test for equal means and equal variances in paired-samples additively decomposes into separate tests of these hypotheses. The test of equal variances in the decomposition is the standard Pitman–Morgan procedure. The test of equal means in the decomposition is based on a t-ratio with (n ? 2) degrees of freedom and has the additional restriction that the variances are equal.     

On the efficiencies of some common quick estimators

The quick estimators of location and scale have broad applications and are widely used. For a variety of symmetric populations we obtain the quantiles and the weights for which the asymptotic variances of the quick estimators are minimum. These optimal quick estimators are then used to obtain the asymptotic relative efficiencies of the commonly used estimators such as trimean. gastwirth. median, midrange. and interquartile range with respect to the optimal quick estimators in order to determine a choice among them and to check whether they are unacceptably poor. In the process it is seen that the interquartile range is the optimal quick estimator of scale for Cauchy populations; but the interdecile range is in general preferable. Also the optimal estimator of the location for the logistic distribution puts weights 0.3 on each of the two quartiles and 0.4 on the median. It is shown that for the symmetric distributions, such as the beta and Tukey- lambda with [d] > 0, which have finite support and short tails, i.e. the tail exponents (Parzen, 1979) satisfy [d] < 1, the midrange and the range are the optimal quick estimators of location and scale respectively if [d] < 1/2. The class of such distributions Include the distributions with high discontinuous tails, e.g. Tukey-lambda with [d] > 1, as well as some distributions with p.d.f.'s going to zero at the ends of the finite support, such as Tukey-lambda with 1/2 < [d] < 1. As a byproduct an interesting tail correspondence between beta and Tukey-lambda distributions is seen.     

Limit theory for moderate deviations from a unit root with a break in variance

Consider the model y_t = ρ_ny_{t ? 1} + u_t, t = 1, …, n with ρ_n = 1 + c/k_n and u_t = σ₁?_tI{t ? k₀} + σ₂?_tI{t > k₀}, where c is a non-zero constant, σ₁ and σ₂ are two positive constants, I{ · } denotes the indicator function, k_n is a sequence of positive constants increasing to ∞ such that k_n = o(n), and {?_t, t ? 1} is a sequence of i.i.d. random variables with mean zero and variance one. We derive the limiting distributions of the least squares estimator of ρ_n and the t-ratio of ρ_n for the above model in this paper. Some pivotal limit theorems are also obtained. Moreover, Monte Carlo experiments are conducted to examine the estimators under finite sample situations. Our theoretical results are supported by Monte Carlo experiments.     

Confidence Sets Based on Thresholding Estimators in High-Dimensional Gaussian Regression Models

We study confidence intervals based on hard-thresholding, soft-thresholding, and adaptive soft-thresholding in a linear regression model where the number of regressors k may depend on and diverge with sample size n. In addition to the case of known error variance, we define and study versions of the estimators when the error variance is unknown. In the known-variance case, we provide an exact analysis of the coverage properties of such intervals in finite samples. We show that these intervals are always larger than the standard interval based on the least-squares estimator. Asymptotically, the intervals based on the thresholding estimators are larger even by an order of magnitude when the estimators are tuned to perform consistent variable selection. For the unknown-variance case, we provide nontrivial lower bounds and a small numerical study for the coverage probabilities in finite samples. We also conduct an asymptotic analysis where the results from the known-variance case can be shown to carry over asymptotically if the number of degrees of freedom n ? k tends to infinity fast enough in relation to the thresholding parameter.     

√n-CONSISTENT ESTIMATION IN A RANDOM COEFFICIENT AUTOREGRESSIVE MODEL

This paper deals with √n-consistent estimation of the parameter μ in the RCAR(l) model defined by the difference equation X_j=(μ+U_j)X_j-l+ej (jε Z), where {e_j: jε Z} and {U_j: jε Z} are two independent sets of i.i.d. random variables with zero means, positive finite variances and E[(μ+U₁)²] < 1. A class of asymptotically normal estimators of μ indexed by a family of bounded measurable functions is introduced. Then an estimator is constructed which is asymptotically equivalent to the best estimator in that class. This estimator, asymptotically equivalent to the quasi-maximum likelihood estimator derived in Nicholls & Quinn (1982), is much simpler to calculate and is asymptotically normal without the additional moment conditions those authors impose.