Projectors and linear estimation in general linear models

The paper gives a self-contained account of minimum disper­sion linear unbiased estimation of the expectation vector in a linear model with the dispersion matrix belonging to some, rather arbitrary, set of nonnegative definite matrices. The approach to linear estimation in general linear models recommended here is a direct generalization of some ideas and results presented by Rao (1973, 19 74) for the case of a general Gauss-Markov model

A new insight into the nature of some estimation problems originaly arising in the context of a general Gauss-Markov model as well as the correspondence of results known in the literature to those obtained in the present paper for general linear models are also given. As preliminary results the theory of projectors defined by Rao (1973) is extended.     

Admissible linear estimators in the general Gauss-Markov model

This paper derives a complete characterization of estimators that are admissible for a given identifiable vector of parametric functions among the set of linear estimators under the general Gauss-Markov model with a dispersion matrix possibly singular. The characterization obtained implies some corollaries, which are then compared with the results known in the literature.     

The General Multivariate Gauss—Markov Model of the Incomplete Block Design

The aim of the paper is to generalize testing and estimation for the multivariate standard incomplete block model (Rao & Mitra, 1971a) to the general multivariate Gauss—Markov incomplete block model with singular covariance matrix. The results of this paper can be applied to particular cases of the multivariate Gauss—Markov incomplete block model, including the Zyskind—Martin model.     

On f-tests and linear hypothesis in a general linear model

A simple method of setting linear hypotheses testable by F-tests in a general linear model when the covariance matrix has a general form and is completely unknown, is provided. With some additional conditions imposed on the covariance matrix, there exist the UMP invariant tests of certain linear hypotheses. We derive them to compare the powers with those of F-tests obtained under no restrictions on the covariance matrix. The results are illustrated in a multiple regression model with some examples.     

On a problem with singularity in comparison of linear experiments

For consistency, the parameter space in the Gauss-Markov model with singular covariance matrix is usually restricted by observation vector. This restriction arises some difficulties in comparison of linear experiments. To avoid it we reduce the problem of comparison from singular to nonsingular case.     

Admissible linear estimation in singular linear models

The admissibility results of Rao (1976), proved in the context of a nonsingular covariance matrix, are exteneded to the situation where the covariance matrix is singular. Admi.s s Lb Le linear estimators in the Gauss-Markoff model are characterized and admis-sibility of the best linear unbiased estimator is investigated.     

Large sample test criteria on Toeplitz covariance structure

In the analysis of stationary stochastic process, one has to deal with covariance matrix of Toeplitz (or Laurent) structure. Such structure has a feature that not only the elements on the principal diagonal but also those lying on each of the parallel sub-diagonals are equal as well. The present investigation is on the problem of large sample testing of the Toeplitz pattern of the population covariance matrix. Apart from usual application of likelihood ratio and Rao’s efficient score criteria, some heuristic two-stage tests are suggested. The results of Monte Carlo experiment are reported for the size of the proposed tests.     

Statistical Inference for Damaged Poisson Distribution

Abstract

For non-negative integer-valued random variables, the concept of “damaged” observations was introduced, for the first time, by Rao and Rubin [Rao, C. R., Rubin, H. (1964). On a characterization of the Poisson distribution. Sankhya 26:295–298] in 1964 on a paper concerning the characterization of Poisson distribution. In 1965, Rao [Rao, C. R. (1965). On discrete distribution arising out of methods of ascertainment. Sankhya Ser. A. 27:311–324] discusses some results related with inferences for parameters of a Poisson Model when it has occurred partial destruction of observations. A random variable is said to be damaged if it is unobservable, due to a damage mechanism which randomly reduces its magnitude. In subsequent years, considerable attention has been given to characterizations of distributions of such random variables that satisfy the “Rao–Rubin” condition. This article presents some inference aspects of a damaged Poisson distribution, under reasonable assumption that, when an observation on the random variable is made, it is also possible to determine whether or not some damage has occurred. In other words, we do not know how many items are damaged, but we can identify the existence of damage. Particularly it is illustrated the situation in which it is possible to identify the occurrence of some damage although it is not possible to determine the amount of items damaged. Maximum likelihood estimators of the underlying parameters and their asymptotic covariance matrix are obtained. Convergence of the estimates of parameters to the asymptotic values are studied through Monte Carlo simulations.     

Computations of predictors/estimators under a linear random-effects model with parameter restrictions

This paper considers the problem of simultaneously predicting/estimating unknown parameter spaces in a linear random-effects model with both parameter restrictions and missing observations. We shall establish explicit formulas for calculating the best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) of all unknown parameters in such a model, and derive a variety of mathematical and statistical properties of the BLUPs under general assumptions. We also discuss some matrix expressions related to the covariance matrix of the BLUP, and present various necessary and sufficient conditions for several equalities and inequalities of the covariance matrix of the BLUP to hold.     

Recursive improvement of estimates in a Gauss-Markov model with linear restrictions

The minimum-dispersion linear unbiased estimator of a set of estimable functions in a general Gauss-Markov model with double linear restrictions is considered. The attention is focused on developing a recursive formula in which an initial estimator, obtained from the unrestricted model, is corrected with respect to the restrictions successively incorporated into the model. The established formula generalizes known results developed for the simple Gauss-Markov model.     

On testing for an identity covariance matrix when the dimensionality equals or exceeds the sample size

This article explores the problem of testing the hypothesis that the covariance matrix is an identity matrix when the dimensionality is equal to the sample size or larger. Two new test statistics are proposed under comparable assumptions to those statistics in the literature. The asymptotic distribution of the proposed test statistics are found and are shown to be consistent in the general asymptotic framework. An extensive simulation study shows the newly proposed tests are comparable to, and in some cases more powerful than, the tests for an identity covariance matrix currently in the literature.     

Existence conditions of the uniformly minimum risk unbiased estimators in extended growth curve models

Necessary and sufficient existence conditions are derived for the uniformly minimum risk unbiased estimators of the parameters in extended growth curve models with the general covariance matrix or the uniform covariance structure or the serial covariance structure under convex losses and matrix losses, respectively.     

A new heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimator for the linear regression model

The assumption that all random errors in the linear regression model share the same variance (homoskedasticity) is often violated in practice. The ordinary least squares estimator of the vector of regression parameters remains unbiased, consistent and asymptotically normal under unequal error variances. Many practitioners then choose to base their inferences on such an estimator. The usual practice is to couple it with an asymptotically valid estimation of its covariance matrix, and then carry out hypothesis tests that are valid under heteroskedasticity of unknown form. We use numerical integration methods to compute the exact null distributions of some quasi-t test statistics, and propose a new covariance matrix estimator. The numerical results favor testing inference based on the estimator we propose.     

A theorem on the covariance matrix of a generalized least squares estimator under an elliptically symmetric error

In a general linear regression model, a generalized least squares estimator (GLSE) is widely employed as an estimator of regression coefficient. The efficiency of the GLSE is usually measured by its covariance (or risk) matrix. In this paper, it is shown that the covariance matrix remains the same as long as the distribution of the error term is elliptically symmetric. This implies that every efficiency result obtained under normal distribution assumption is still valid under elliptical symmetry. An application to a heteroscedastic linear model is also illustrated.     

Influence diagnostics in a multivariate normal regression model with general parameterization

Patriota and Lemonte [24] introduced a quite general multivariate normal regression model. This model considers that the mean vector and the covariance matrix share the same vector of parameters. In this paper we present some influence assessment for this model, such as the local influence, total local influence of an individual and generalized leverage which are discussed. Additionally, the normal curvatures for local influence studies are derived under some perturbation schemes.     

Invariant methods for estimating variance components in mixed linear models 2

The subject of this contribution is to present a survey on new methods for variance component estimation, which appeared in the literature in recent years. Starting from mixed models treated in analysis of variance research work on this field turned over to a more general approach in which the covariance matrix of the vector of observations is assumed to be a unknown linear combination of known symmetric matrices. Much interest has been shown in developing some kinds op optimal estimators for the unknown parameters and most results were obtained for estimators being invariant with respect to a certain group of translations. Therefore we restrict attention to this class of estimates. We will deal with minimum variance unbiased estimators, least squared errors estimators, maximum likelihood estimators. Bayes quadratic estimators and show some relations to the mimimum norm quadratic unbiased estimation principle (MINQUE) introduced by C. R. Rao [20]. We do not mention the original motivation of MINQUE since the otion of minimum norm depends on a measure that is not accepted by all statisticians. Also we do‘nt deal with other approaches like the BAYEsian and fiducial methods which were successfully applied by S. Portnoy [18], P. Rusolph [22], G. C. Tiao, W. Y. Tan [28], M. J. K. Healy [9] and others, although in very special situations, only. Additionally we add some new results and also new insight in the properties of known estimators. We give a new characterization of MINQUE in the class of all estimators, extend explicite expressions for locally optimal quadratic estimators given by C. R. Rao [22] to a slightly more general situation and prove complete class theorems useful for the computation of BAYES quadratic estimators. We also investigate situations in which BAYES quadratic unbiased estimators do'nt change if the distribution of the error terms differ from the normal distribution.     

Identification of the linear factor model

Abstract

This paper provides several new results on identification of the linear factor model. The model allows for correlated latent factors and dependence among the idiosyncratic errors. I also illustrate identification under a dedicated measurement structure and other reduced rank restrictions. I use these results to study identification in a model with both observed covariates and latent factors. The analysis emphasizes the different roles played by restrictions on the error covariance matrix, restrictions on the factor loadings and the factor covariance matrix, and restrictions on the coefficients on covariates. The identification results are simple, intuitive, and directly applicable to many settings.     

Graphical modelling and the Mahalanobis distance

I consider the problem of estimating the Mahalanobis distance between multivariate normal populations when the population covariance matrix satisfies a graphical model. In addition to providing a clear understanding of the dependencies in a multivariate data set, the use of graphical models can reduce the variability of the estimated distances and improve inferences. I derive the asymptotic distribution of the estimated Mahalanobis distance under a general covariance model, which includes graphical models as a special case. Two examples are discussed.     

Small-area estimation by combining time-series and cross-sectional data

A model involving autocorrelated random effects and sampling errors is proposed for small-area estimation, using both time-series and cross-sectional data. The sampling errors are assumed to have a known block-diagonal covariance matrix. This model is an extension of a well-known model, due to Fay and Herriot (1979), for cross-sectional data. A two-stage estimator of a small-area mean for the current period is obtained under the proposed model with known autocorrelation, by first deriving the best linear unbiased prediction estimator assuming known variance components, and then replacing them with their consistent estimators. Extending the approach of Prasad and Rao (1986, 1990) for the Fay-Herriot model, an estimator of mean squared error (MSE) of the two-stage estimator, correct to a second-order approximation for a small or moderate number of time points, T, and a large number of small areas, m, is obtained. The case of unknown autocorrelation is also considered. Limited simulation results on the efficiency of two-stage estimators and the accuracy of the proposed estimator of MSE are présentés.     

Further theoretical results and a comparison between two methods for approximating eigenvalues of perturbed covariance matrices

Covariance matrices, or in general matrices of sums of squares and cross-products, are used as input in many multivariate analyses techniques. The eigenvalues of these matrices play an important role in the statistical analysis of data including estimation and hypotheses testing. It has been recognized that one or few observations can exert an undue influence on the eigenvalues of a covariance matrix. The relationship between the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix computed from all data and the eigenvalues of the perturbed covariance matrix (a covariance matrix computed after a small subset of the observations has been deleted) cannot in general be written in closed-form. Two methods for approximating the eigenvalues of a perturbed covariance matrix have been suggested by Hadi (1988) and Wang and Nyquist (1991) for the case of a perturbation by a single observation. In this paper we improve on these two methods and give some additional theoretical results that may give further insight into the problem. We also compare the two improved approximations in terms of their accuracies.