A Smooth Nonparametric,Multivariate, Mixed-Data Location-Scale Test

Abstract

A number of tests have been proposed for assessing the location-scale assumption that is often invoked by practitioners. Existing approaches include Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Cramer–von Mises statistics that each involve measures of divergence between unknown joint distribution functions and products of marginal distributions. In practice, the unknown distribution functions embedded in these statistics are typically approximated using nonsmooth empirical distribution functions (EDFs). In a recent article, Li, Li, and Racine establish the benefits of smoothing the EDF for inference, though their theoretical results are limited to the case where the covariates are observed and the distributions unobserved, while in the current setting some covariates and their distributions are unobserved (i.e., the test relies on population error terms from a location-scale model) which necessarily involves a separate theoretical approach. We demonstrate how replacing the nonsmooth distributions of unobservables with their kernel-smoothed sample counterparts can lead to substantial power improvements, and extend existing approaches to the smooth multivariate and mixed continuous and discrete data setting in the presence of unobservables. Theoretical underpinnings are provided, Monte Carlo simulations are undertaken to assess finite-sample performance, and illustrative applications are provided.     

Nonparametric Estimation of the Conditional Distribution at Regression Boundary Points

Abstract

Nonparametric regression is a standard statistical tool with increased importance in the Big Data era. Boundary points pose additional difficulties but local polynomial regression can be used to alleviate them. Local linear regression, for example, is easy to implement and performs quite well both at interior and boundary points. Estimating the conditional distribution function and/or the quantile function at a given regressor point is immediate via standard kernel methods but problems ensue if local linear methods are to be used. In particular, the distribution function estimator is not guaranteed to be monotone increasing, and the quantile curves can “cross.” In the article at hand, a simple method of correcting the local linear distribution estimator for monotonicity is proposed, and its good performance is demonstrated via simulations and real data examples. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

New Ridge Regression Estimator in Semiparametric Regression Models

In the context of ridge regression, the estimation of shrinkage parameter plays an important role in analyzing data. Many efforts have been put to develop the computation of risk function in different full-parametric ridge regression approaches using eigenvalues and then bringing an efficient estimator of shrinkage parameter based on them. In this respect, the estimation of shrinkage parameter is neglected for semiparametric regression model. Not restricted, but the main focus of this approach is to develop necessary tools for computing the risk function of regression coefficient based on the eigenvalues of design matrix in semiparametric regression. For this purpose the differencing methodology is applied. We also propose a new estimator for shrinkage parameter which is of harmonic type mean of ridge estimators. It is shown that this estimator performs better than all the existing ones for the regression coefficient. For our proposal, a Monte Carlo simulation study and a real dataset analysis related to housing attributes are conducted to illustrate the efficiency of shrinkage estimators based on the minimum risk and mean squared error criteria.     

Additive Nonparametric Regression in the Presence of Endogenous Regressors

In this article we consider nonparametric estimation of a structural equation model under full additivity constraint. We propose estimators for both the conditional mean and gradient which are consistent, asymptotically normal, oracle efficient, and free from the curse of dimensionality. Monte Carlo simulations support the asymptotic developments. We employ a partially linear extension of our model to study the relationship between child care and cognitive outcomes. Some of our (average) results are consistent with the literature (e.g., negative returns to child care when mothers have higher levels of education). However, as our estimators allow for heterogeneity both across and within groups, we are able to contradict many findings in the literature (e.g., we do not find any significant differences in returns between boys and girls or for formal versus informal child care). Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Seemingly Unrelated Ridge Regression in Semiparametric Models

This article is concerned with the problem of multicollinearity in the linear part of a seemingly unrelated semiparametric (SUS) model. It is also suspected that some additional non stochastic linear constraints hold on the whole parameter space. In the sequel, we propose semiparametric ridge and non ridge type estimators combining the restricted least squares methods in the model under study. For practical aspects, it is assumed that the covariance matrix of error terms is unknown and thus feasible estimators are proposed and their asymptotic distributional properties are derived. Also, necessary and sufficient conditions for the superiority of the ridge-type estimator over the non ridge type estimator for selecting the ridge parameter K are derived. Lastly, a Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to estimate the parametric and nonparametric parts. In this regard, kernel smoothing and cross validation methods for estimating the nonparametric function are used.     

Tests for Symmetric Error Distribution in Linear and Nonparametric Regression Models

In linear and nonparametric regression models, the problem of testing for symmetry of the distribution of errors is considered. We propose a test statistic which utilizes the empirical characteristic function of the corresponding residuals. The asymptotic null distribution of the test statistic as well as its behavior under alternatives is investigated. A simulation study compares bootstrap versions of the proposed test to other more standard procedures.     

Flexible Covariance Structures for Categorical Dependent Variables Through Finite Mixtures of Generalized Extreme Value Models

A new class of finite mixture discrete choice models, denoted FinMix (fīn m?ks), is introduced. These arise from the combination of a finite number of core Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) models to achieve more flexible functional forms, particularly in terms of error covariance structures. Example members of the class include combinations of (1) Multinomial Logit (MNL) models with differing scales, (2) multinomial logit with nested MNL models, (3) tree extreme value models with differing preference trees, and so on. Compatibility of FinMix models with utility maximization is easily determined, which permits empirical investigation of the suitability of specific model forms for economic evaluation exercises.     

Semiparametric Ridge Regression Approach in Partially Linear Models

In this article, we introduce a semiparametric ridge regression estimator for the vector-parameter in a partial linear model. It is also assumed that some additional artificial linear restrictions are imposed to the whole parameter space and the errors are dependent. This estimator is a generalization of the well-known restricted least-squares estimator and is confined to the (affine) subspace which is generated by the restrictions. Asymptotic distributional bias and risk are also derived and the comparison result is then given.     

Integrated Estimation of Functional-Coefficient Regression Models with Different Smoothing Variables

In this article, the functional-coefficient regression models with different smoothing variables in different coefficient functions are discussed. The integrated estimates of the coefficient functions are defined by marginal integration on the initial value obtained by local linear technique. Their asymptotical normalities are studied.     

Nonparametric estimation of regression models with mixed discrete and continuous covariates by the K-nn method

In this article we consider the problem of estimating a nonparametric conditional mean function with mixed discrete and continuous covariates by the nonparametric k-nearest-neighbor (k-nn) method. We derive the asymptotic normality result of the proposed estimator and use Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate its finite sample performance. We also provide an illustrative empirical example of our method.     

A Nonparametric Test of the Predictive Regression Model

This article considers testing the significance of a regressor with a near unit root in a predictive regression model. The procedures discussed in this article are nonparametric, so one can test the significance of a regressor without specifying a functional form. The results are used to test the null hypothesis that the entire function takes the value of zero. We show that the standardized test has a normal distribution regardless of whether there is a near unit root in the regressor. This is in contrast to tests based on linear regression for this model where tests have a nonstandard limiting distribution that depends on nuisance parameters. Our results have practical implications in testing the significance of a regressor since there is no need to conduct pretests for a unit root in the regressor and the same procedure can be used if the regressor has a unit root or not. A Monte Carlo experiment explores the performance of the test for various levels of persistence of the regressors and for various linear and nonlinear alternatives. The test has superior performance against certain nonlinear alternatives. An application of the test applied to stock returns shows how the test can improve inference about predictability.     

About the Nonparametric Estimation of the Bernoulli Regression

The nonparametric estimation of the Bernoulli regression function is studied. The uniform consistency conditions are established and the limit theorems are proved for continuous functionals on C[a, 1 ? a], 0 < a < 1/2.     

Bayesian Approach in Nonparametric Count Regression with Binomial Kernel

Recently, Kokonendji et al. have adapted the well-known Nadaraya–Watson kernel estimator for estimating the count function m in the context of nonparametric discrete regression. The authors have also investigated the bandwidth selection using the cross-validation method. In this article, we propose a Bayesian approach in the context of nonparametric count regression for estimating the bandwidth and the variance of the model error, which has not been estimated in Kokonendji et al. The model error is considered as Gaussian with mean of zero and a variance of σ². The Bayes estimates cannot be obtained in closed form and then, we use the well-known Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to compute the Bayes estimates under the squared errors loss function. The performance of this proposed approach and the cross-validation method are compared through simulation and real count data.     

Relative Errors of Difference-Based Variance Estimators in Nonparametric Regression

Difference-based estimators for the error variance are popular since they do not require the estimation of the mean function. Unlike most existing difference-based estimators, new estimators proposed by Müller et al. (2003 Müller , U. , Schick , A. , Wefelmeyer , W. ( 2003 ). Estimating the error variance in nonparametric regression by a covariate-matched U-statistic . Statistics 37 : 179 – 188 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Tong and Wang (2005 Tong , T. , Wang , Y. ( 2005 ). Estimating residual variance in nonparametric regression using least squares . Biometrika 92 : 821 – 830 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) achieved the asymptotic optimal rate as residual-based estimators. In this article, we study the relative errors of these difference-based estimators which lead to better understanding of the differences between them and residual-based estimators. To compute the relative error of the covariate-matched U-statistic estimator proposed by Müller et al. (2003 Müller , U. , Schick , A. , Wefelmeyer , W. ( 2003 ). Estimating the error variance in nonparametric regression by a covariate-matched U-statistic . Statistics 37 : 179 – 188 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we develop a modified version by using simpler weights. We further investigate its asymptotic property for both equidistant and random designs and show that our modified estimator is asymptotically efficient.     

Nonparametric Testing of an Exclusion Restriction in Quantile Regression

Using the framework proposed by Bickel et al. (2006 Bickel , P. J. , Ritov , Y. , Stoker , T. ( 2006 ). Tailor-made tests for goodness-of-fit to semiparametric hypotheses . Ann. Stat. 34 ( 2 ): 721 – 741 . [Google Scholar]), we provide a score-based testing method to check the exclusion restriction in quantile regression, i.e., H: ν_α(Y|U, V) = ν_α(Y|U) w.p.1, where ν_α denotes the αth (0 < α < 1) quantile. A subsampling method is suggested to acquire the critical values and justified. The tests are all found to be consistent against fixed alternatives and have discriminating power against local alternatives at root-n scale. We address this particular problem as a representative among a wide family of semiparametric model checking problems. The methodology can be carried over to other goodness-of-fit testing of semiparametric models, possibly involve non smooth functions.     

Multiple Imputation of Predictor Variables Using Generalized Additive Models

The sensitivity of multiple imputation methods to deviations from their distributional assumptions is investigated using simulations, where the parameters of scientific interest are the coefficients of a linear regression model, and values in predictor variables are missing at random. The performance of a newly proposed imputation method based on generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) is investigated. Although imputation methods based on predictive mean matching are virtually unbiased, they suffer from mild to moderate under-coverage, even in the experiment where all variables are jointly normal distributed. The GAMLSS method features better coverage than currently available methods.     

Nonparametric Modeling Auxiliary Covariates in Random Coefficient Models

Random coefficient model (RCM) is a powerful statistical tool in analyzing correlated data collected from studies with different clusters or from longitudinal studies. In practice, there is a need for statistical methods that allow biomedical researchers to adjust for the measured and unmeasured covariates that might affect the regression model. This article studies two nonparametric methods dealing with auxiliary covariate data in linear random coefficient models. We demonstrate how to estimate the coefficients of the models and how to predict the random effects when the covariates are missing or mismeasured. We employ empirical estimator and kernel smoother to handle a discrete and continuous auxiliary, respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed methods perform better than an alternative method that only uses data in the validation data set and ignores the random effects in the random coefficient model.     

Consistency of Posterior Distributions for Heteroscedastic Nonparametric Regression Models

In this article, we consider Bayesian inferences for the heteroscedastic nonparametric regression models, when both the mean function and variance function are unknown. We demonstrated consistency of posterior distributions for this model using priors induced by B-splines expansion, treating both random and deterministic covariates in a uniform manner.     

Change-Point Estimation in Long Memory Nonparametric Models with Applications

We consider the estimation of a change point or discontinuity in a regression function for random design model with long memory errors. We provide several change-point estimators and investigate the consistency of the estimators. Using the fractional ARIMA process as an example of long memory process, we report a small Monte Carlo experiment to compare the performance of the estimators in finite samples. We finish by applying the method to a climatological data example.     

A Note on Goodness-of-Fit Test in Latent Variable Models with Categorical Variables

Assessing the goodness-of-fit of latent variable models for categorical data becomes a problem in presence of sparse data since the classical goodness-of-fit statistics are badly approximated by the chi square distribution. A good solution to this problem is represented by statistical tests based on the residuals associated to marginal distributions of the manifest variables (Cagnone and Mignani, 2007 Cagnone , S. , Mignani , S. ( 2007 ). Assessing the goodness-of-fit of a latent variable model for ordinal data . Metron LXV : 337 – 361 . [Google Scholar]; Maydeu-Olivares and Joe, 2005 Maydeu-Olivares , A. , Joe , H. ( 2005 ). Limited- and full-information estimation and goodness-of-fit testing in 2n contingency tables: A unified framework . J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 100 ( 471 ): 1009 – 1020 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Reiser, 1996 Reiser , M. ( 1996 ). Analysis of residual for the multinomial item response model . Psychometrika 61 : 509 – 528 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The quadratic form associated to the test involves the use of a generalized inverse of the covariance matrix of the sample proportions. In this article we prove that the rank of the Moore-Penrose generalized inverse is univocally determined and hence it can be used appropriately.