Nonparametric Identification of Finite Mixture Models of Dynamic Discrete Choices

In dynamic discrete choice analysis, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity is an important issue, and finite mixture models provide flexible ways to account for it. This paper studies nonparametric identifiability of type probabilities and type‐specific component distributions in finite mixture models of dynamic discrete choices. We derive sufficient conditions for nonparametric identification for various finite mixture models of dynamic discrete choices used in applied work under different assumptions on the Markov property, stationarity, and type‐invariance in the transition process. Three elements emerge as the important determinants of identification: the time‐dimension of panel data, the number of values the covariates can take, and the heterogeneity of the response of different types to changes in the covariates. For example, in a simple case where the transition function is type‐invariant, a time‐dimension of T = 3 is sufficient for identification, provided that the number of values the covariates can take is no smaller than the number of types and that the changes in the covariates induce sufficiently heterogeneous variations in the choice probabilities across types. Identification is achieved even when state dependence is present if a model is stationary first‐order Markovian and the panel has a moderate time‐dimension (T 6).     

Quantification of Variability and Uncertainty Using Mixture Distributions: Evaluation of Sample Size, Mixing Weights, and Separation Between Components

Variability is the heterogeneity of values within a population. Uncertainty refers to lack of knowledge regarding the true value of a quantity. Mixture distributions have the potential to improve the goodness of fit to data sets not adequately described by a single parametric distribution. Uncertainty due to random sampling error in statistics of interests can be estimated based upon bootstrap simulation. In order to evaluate the robustness of using mixture distribution as a basis for estimating both variability and uncertainty, 108 synthetic data sets generated from selected population mixture log-normal distributions were investigated, and properties of variability and uncertainty estimates were evaluated with respect to variation in sample size, mixing weight, and separation between components of mixtures. Furthermore, mixture distributions were compared with single-component distributions. Findings include: (1). mixing weight influences the stability of variability and uncertainty estimates; (2). bootstrap simulation results tend to be more stable for larger sample sizes; (3). when two components are well separated, the stability of bootstrap simulation is improved; however, a larger degree of uncertainty arises regarding the percentiles coinciding with the separated region; (4). when two components are not well separated, a single distribution may often be a better choice because it has fewer parameters and better numerical stability; and (5). dependencies exist in sampling distributions of parameters of mixtures and are influenced by the amount of separation between the components. An emission factor case study based upon NO(x) emissions from coal-fired tangential boilers is used to illustrate the application of the approach.     

Using Animated Probability Plots to Explore the Suitability of Mixture Models with Two Component Distributions

Risk assessors often use different probability plots as a way to assess the fit of a particular distribution or model by comparing the plotted points to a straight line and to obtain estimates of the parameters in parametric distributions or models. When empirical data do not fall in a sufficiently straight line on a probability plot, and when no other single parametric distribution provides an acceptable (graphical) fit to the data, the risk assessor may consider a mixture model with two component distributions. Animated probability plots are a way to visualize the possible behaviors of mixture models with two component distributions. When no single parametric distribution provides an adequate fit to an empirical dataset, animated probability plots can help an analyst pick some plausible mixture models for the data based on their qualitative fit. After using animations during exploratory data analysis, the analyst must then use other statistical tools, including but not limited to: Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) to find the optimal parameters, Goodness of Fit (GoF) tests, and a variety of diagnostic plots to check the adequacy of the fit. Using a specific example with two LogNormal components, we illustrate the use of animated probability plots as a tool for exploring the suitability of a mixture model with two component distributions. Animations work well with other types of probability plots, and they may be extended to analyze mixture models with three or more component distributions.     

基于EM填补和加权秩和比的电力系统黑启动决策方法

电力系统大停电后需要安全可靠的黑启动方案进行电力快速恢复,如何从众多黑启动方案中进行优选是一个重要课题。不同于以往完全信息情况下的研究,本文对电力系统黑启动方案评估问题的研究是基于不完全信息情况下进行的,提出一种EM填补和加权秩和比相结合的黑启动决策方法。首先,采用EM算法填补黑启动方案评价空值,得到完备的黑启动评价矩阵;然后,计算指标间的差异性,利用差异性权重法得到各个指标的权重;最后,采用加权秩和比法确定每个方案的评分值,实现黑启动方案的分级和完全排序。本文方法基于广东电网黑启动数据集进行实验验证,实验结果表明,本文方法可以对不完全信息情况下的黑启动方案进行优劣排序,且具有较高准确性。     

人工智能定价对消费者价格公平感知的影响

在GARCH模型框架下,提出过新的双曲GARCH形式(记为HGARCH),不仅与HY-GARCH模型一样可以同时刻画波动的强烈振幅和长记忆衰减两个性质,并且较之HY-GARCH模型,有更简单的条件方差非负约束条件.然而,当时间序列较长时,用单一参数结构不能充分捕捉可能发生的结构变化.为此,提出新的动态混合HGARCH模型(DM-HGARCH),使之可以同时拥有协方差平稳、长记忆和结构变化3个特性.讨论了新模型的弱平稳解存在条件,利用EM算法进行参数估计,并且用蒙特卡罗模拟给出估计在有限样本下的表现.最后将该模型分别用于1995年~2014年中国上证指数和美国标普500指数的日波动率建模.结果表明,在给定样本期间内,动态混合HGARCH模型(DM-HGARCH)对标普500指数有更好的样本内拟合和样本外预测表现.     

基于动态扫描和蚂蚁算法的物流配送网络优化研究

本文在对动态扫描和蚂蚁算法研究的基础上,针对蚂蚁算法在求解大规模物流配送问题中存在的不足,利用动态扫描方法在区域选择方面的实用性和蚂蚁算法在局部优化方面的优点,提出综合两种方法的混合算法,并进行了实验计算.计算结果表明,混合算法获得了较满意的效果.