Testing sphericity and intraclass covariance structures under a growth curve model in high dimension

In this article, we consider the problem of testing (a) sphericity and (b) intraclass covariance structure under a growth curve model. The maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) for the mean in a growth curve model is a weighted estimator with the inverse of the sample covariance matrix which is unstable for large p close to N and singular for p larger than N. The MLE for the covariance matrix is based on the MLE for the mean, which can be very poor for p close to N. For both structures (a) and (b), we modify the MLE for the mean to an unweighted estimator and based on this estimator we propose a new estimator for the covariance matrix. This new estimator leads to new tests for (a) and (b). We also propose two other tests for each structure, which are just based on the sample covariance matrix.

To compare the performance of all four tests we compute for each structure (a) and (b) the attained significance level and the empirical power. We show that one of the tests based on the sample covariance matrix is better than the likelihood ratio test based on the MLE.     

On the estimation of the mean vector of a multivariate normal distribution under symmetry

The problem of estimation of the mean vector of a multivariate normal distribution with unknown covariance matrix, under uncertain prior information (UPI) that the component mean vectors are equal, is considered. The shrinkage preliminary test maximum likelihood estimator (SPTMLE) for the parameter vector is proposed. The risk and covariance matrix of the proposed estimato are derived and parameter range in which SPTMLE dominates the usual preliminary test maximum likelihood estimator (PTMLE) is investigated. It is shown that the proposed estimator provides a wider range than the usual premilinary test estimator in which it dominates the classical estimator. Further, the SPTMLE has more appropriate size for the preliminary test than the PTMLE.     

Unbiased Estimator for a Covariance Matrix Under Two-Step Monotone Incomplete Sample

In this article, we consider an inference for a covariance matrix under two-step monotone incomplete sample. The maximum likelihood estimator of the mean vector is unbiased but that of the covariance matrix is biased. We derive an unbiased estimator for the covariance matrix using some fundamental properties of the Wishart matrix. The properties of the estimators are investigated and the accuracies are checked by a numerical simulation.     

Approaches to regression analysis with multiple measurements from individual sampling units

Application of ordinary least-squares regression to data sets which contain multiple measurements from individual sampling units produces an unbiased estimator of the parameters but a biased estimator of the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates. The present work considers a random coefficient, linear model to deal with such data sets: this model permits many senses in which multiple measurements are taken from a sampling unit, not just when it is measured at several times. Three procedures to estimate the covariance matrix of the error term of the model are considered. Given these, three procedures to estimate the parameters of the model and their covariance matrix are considered; these are ordinary least-squares, generalized least-squares, and an adjusted ordinary least-squares procedure which produces an unbiased estimator of the covariance matrix of the parameters with small samples. These various procedures are compared in simulation studies using three examples from the biological literature. The possibility of testing hypotheses about the vector of parameters is also considered. It is found that all three procedures for regression estimation produce estimators of the parameters with bias of no practical consequence, Both generalized least-squares and adjusted ordinary least-squares generally produce estimators of the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates with bias of no practical consequence, while ordinary least-squares produces a negatively biased estimator. Neither ordinary nor generalized least-squares provide satisfactory hypothesis tests of the vector of parameter estimates. It is concluded that adjusted ordinary least-squares, when applied with either of two of the procedures used to estimate the error coveriance matrix, shows promise for practical application with data sets of the nature considered here.     

The Asymptotic Covariance Matrix of the Least Squares Estimator in the Stochastic Linear Regression Model: The Case of Elliptically Symmetric Distribution

This article considers the unconditional asymptotic covariance matrix of the least squares estimator in the linear regression model with stochastic explanatory variables. The asymptotic covariance matrix of the least squares estimator of regression parameters is evaluated relative to the standard asymptotic covariance matrix when the joint distribution of the dependent and explanatory variables is in the class of elliptically symmetric distributions. An empirical example using financial data is presented. Numerical examples and simulation experiments are given to illustrate the difference of the two asymptotic covariance matrices.     

A new estimator of covariance matrix

The problem of estimating a covariance matrix is considered in this paper. Using the so-called partial Iwasawa coordinates of the covariance matrix, a new improved estimator dominating the James-Stein estimator is proposed. The results of a simulation study verifies that the new estimator provides a substantial improvement in risk under Stein's loss.     

Robust regression through robust covariances

This paper discusses the estimation of regression parameters after summarizing the data by a covariance matrix of the concatenated vector of explanatory variables and response variable. A robust estimate of the covariance matrix leads to a robust regression estimator. An M-estimator at the covariance estimation step is studied in the paper, and the resulting regression estimator is compared to a few previously proposed robust regression estimators.     

Estimating multivariate random effects without replication

This paper considers the estimation of multivariate random effects that are measured with error, but for which there are no replications. Using structural simplification of the correlation of the data, separate estimates are generated for the covariance of the random effects and the covariance of the error. An estimator of the random effects based on a truncated eigen structure is defined, and matrix mean squared error and its trace (risk) are analyzed, with comparison to the maximum likelihood estimator (m.l.e) and also to the Stein-like estimator of Efron and Morris (1972). It is shown that the estimator has risk which is smaller than the risk of the maximum likelihood estimator and the Efron-Morris estimator in most cases.     

Regularized covariance matrix estimation under the common principal components model

The common principal components (CPC) model provides a way to model the population covariance matrices of several groups by assuming a common eigenvector structure. When appropriate, this model can provide covariance matrix estimators of which the elements have smaller standard errors than when using either the pooled covariance matrix or the per group unbiased sample covariance matrix estimators. In this article, a regularized CPC estimator under the assumption of a common (or partially common) eigenvector structure in the populations is proposed. After estimation of the common eigenvectors using the Flury–Gautschi (or other) algorithm, the off-diagonal elements of the nearly diagonalized covariance matrices are shrunk towards zero and multiplied with the orthogonal common eigenvector matrix to obtain the regularized CPC covariance matrix estimates. The optimal shrinkage intensity per group can be estimated using cross-validation. The efficiency of these estimators compared to the pooled and unbiased estimators is investigated in a Monte Carlo simulation study, and the regularized CPC estimator is applied to a real dataset to demonstrate the utility of the method.     

Effects of the estimation of covariance matrix parameters in the generalized multivariate linear model

We Consider the generalized multivariate linear model and assume the covariance matrix of the p x 1 vector of responses on a given individual can be represented in the general linear structure form described by Anderson (1973). The effects of the use of estimates of the parameters of the covariance matrix on the generalized least squares estimator of the regression coefficients and on the prediction of a portion of a future vector, when only the first portion of the vector has been observed, are investigated. Approximations are derived for the covariance matrix of the generalized least squares estimator and for the mean square error matrix of the usual predictor, for the practical case where estimated parameters are used.     

Using simulation methods for bayesian econometric models: inference,development and communication: some comments

We extend the average derivatives estimator to the case of functionally dependent regressors. We show that the proposed estimator is consistent and has a limiting normal distribution. A consistent covariance matrix estimator for the proposed estimator is provided.     

A MODIFIED AVERAGE DERIVATIVES ESTIMATOR

We extend the average derivatives estimator to the case of functionally dependent regressors. We show that the proposed estimator is consistent and has a limiting normal distribution. A consistent covariance matrix estimator for the proposed estimator is provided.     

Form and selection of covariance adjusted estimators in repeated measures models

The GMANOVA model is considered when one characteristic is measured at q time points. The covariance adjusted estimator is the OLS estimator adjusted using analysis of covariance. The covariates are obtained from the space vertical to that derived from the design matrix. Its form is obtained as a GLS estimator using a weight matrix of reduced rank unless all available covariates are used. The choice of the appropriate covariate combination is made by introducing a method based on cross validation (CV). A comparison is made with two other methods that appeared in statistical literature using simulation.     

Robust estimation of a high-dimensional integrated covariance matrix

In this article, we consider a robust method of estimating a realized covariance matrix calculated as the sum of cross products of intraday high-frequency returns. According to recent articles in financial econometrics, the realized covariance matrix is essentially contaminated with market microstructure noise. Although techniques for removing noise from the matrix have been studied since the early 2000s, they have primarily investigated a low-dimensional covariance matrix with statistically significant sample sizes. We focus on noise-robust covariance estimation under converse circumstances, that is, a high-dimensional covariance matrix possibly with a small sample size. For the estimation, we utilize a statistical hypothesis test based on the characteristic that the largest eigenvalue of the covariance matrix asymptotically follows a Tracy–Widom distribution. The null hypothesis assumes that log returns are not pure noises. If a sample eigenvalue is larger than the relevant critical value, then we fail to reject the null hypothesis. The simulation results show that the estimator studied here performs better than others as measured by mean squared error. The empirical analysis shows that our proposed estimator can be adopted to forecast future covariance matrices using real data.     

Estimation of the MSE matrix of the stein estimator

Uniformly minimum-variance unbiased (UMVU) estimators of the total risk and the mean-squared-error (MSE) matrix of the Stein estimator for the multivariate normal mean with unknown covariance matrix are proposed. The estimated MSE matrix is helpful in identifying the components which contribute most to the total risk. It also contains information about the performance of the shrinkage estimator with respect to other quadratic loss functions.     

Small sample behavior of a robust heteroskedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimator

In heteroskedastic regression models, the least squares (OLS) covariance matrix estimator is inconsistent and inference is not reliable. To deal with inconsistency one can estimate the regression coefficients by OLS, and then implement a heteroskedasticity consistent covariance matrix (HCCM) estimator. Unfortunately the HCCM estimator is biased. The bias is reduced by implementing a robust regression, and by using the robust residuals to compute the HCCM estimator (RHCCM). A Monte-Carlo study analyzes the behavior of RHCCM and of other HCCM estimators, in the presence of systematic and random heteroskedasticity, and of outliers in the explanatory variables.     

Time series count data regression

The count data model studied in the paper extends the Poisson model by al-lowing for overdispersion and serial correlation. Alternative approaches to esti-mate nuisance parameters, required for the correction of the Poisson maximum likelihood covariance matrix estimator and for a quasi-likelihood estimator, are studied. The estimators are evaluated by finite sample Monte Carlo experi-mentation. It is found that the Poisson maximum likelihood estimator with corrected covariance matrix estimators provide reliable inferences for longer time series. Overdispersion test statistics are wellbehaved, while conventional portmanteau statistics for white noise have too large sizes. Two empirical illustrations are included.     

ON ESTIMATION OF THE POPULATION SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION FROM A HIGH‐DIMENSIONAL SAMPLE COVARIANCE MATRIX

Sample covariance matrices play a central role in numerous popular statistical methodologies, for example principal components analysis, Kalman filtering and independent component analysis. However, modern random matrix theory indicates that, when the dimension of a random vector is not negligible with respect to the sample size, the sample covariance matrix demonstrates significant deviations from the underlying population covariance matrix. There is an urgent need to develop new estimation tools in such cases with high‐dimensional data to recover the characteristics of the population covariance matrix from the observed sample covariance matrix. We propose a novel solution to this problem based on the method of moments. When the parametric dimension of the population spectrum is finite and known, we prove that the proposed estimator is strongly consistent and asymptotically Gaussian. Otherwise, we combine the first estimation method with a cross‐validation procedure to select the unknown model dimension. Simulation experiments demonstrate the consistency of the proposed procedure. We also indicate possible extensions of the proposed estimator to the case where the population spectrum has a density.     

数据随机缺失下分位数回归模型的诱导光滑估计法

在数据随机缺失的分位数回归模型中,运用诱导光滑思想构造光滑的估计方程,得到了回归参数的诱导光滑估计及渐近协方差估计。接着证明了诱导光滑估计的渐近正态性质,并给出诱导光滑估计及其渐近协方差估计的算法。模拟研究表明新方法在有限样本中表现出色。     

Generalized james-stein estimatoes

Let the p-component vector X be normally distributed with mean θ and covariance σ²I where I denotes the identity matrix. Stein's estimator of θ is kown to dominate the usual estimator X for p ≥ 3, We obtain a family of estimators which dominate Stein's estimator for p≥ 3