Some asymptotics for U-statistics

We consider a one-sample U-statistic with kernel of dimension 2. We obtain its asymptotic bias and skewness and its Edgeworth and Cornish-Fisher type expansions. We also consider in less detail the one sample U-statistic with kernel of arbitrary dimension.     

Two-stage U-statistics for Hypothesis Testing

Abstract.  A U -statistic is not easy to apply or cannot be applied in hypothesis testing when it is degenerate or has an indeterminate degeneracy under the null hypothesis. A class of two-stage U -statistics (TU-statistics) is proposed to remedy these drawbacks. Both the asymptotic distributions under the null and the alternative of TU-statistics are shown to have simple forms. When the degeneracy is indeterminate, the Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency of a TU-statistic dominates that of the incomplete U -statistics. If the kernel is degenerate under the null hypothesis but non-degenerate under the alternative, a TU-statistic is proved to be more powerful than its corresponding U -statistic. Applications to testing independence of paired angles in ecology and marine biology are given. Finally, a simulation study shows that a TU-statistic is more powerful than its corresponding incomplete U -statistic in almost all cases under two settings.     

Multiple change-point estimation with U-statistics

We consider a multiple change-point problem: a finite sequence of independent random variables consists of segments given by a known number of the so-called change-points such that the underlying distribution differs from segment to segment. The task is to estimate these change-points under no further assumptions on the within-segment distributions. In this completely nonparametric framework the proposed estimator is defined as the maximizing point of weighted multivariate U-statistic processes. Under mild moment conditions we prove almost sure convergence and the rate of convergence.     

Minimum variance rectangular designs for U-statistics

We consider a certain class of rectangular designs for incomplete U-statistics based on Latin squares and show it to be optimal with respect to the minimal variance criterion. We also show it to be asymptotically efficient when compared with the corresponding complete statistics, as well as uniformly more efficient than the random subset selection. We provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of our design and give some examples of applications.     

A james-stein type detour of U-statistics

For a vector of estimable parameters, a modified version of the James-Stein rule (incorporating the idea of preliminary test estimators) is utilized in formulating some estimators based on U-statistics and their jackknifed estimator of dispersion matrix. Asymptotic admissibility properties of the classical U-statistics, their preliminary test version and the proposed estimators are studied.     

The Berry-Esseen bound for Studentized U-statistics

Callaert and Veraverbeke (1981) recently obtained a Berry-Esseen-type bound of order n^–1/2 for Studentized nondegenerate U-statistics of degree two. The condition these authors need to obtain this order bound is the finiteness of the 4.5th absolute moment of the kernel h. In this note it is shown that this assumption can be weakened to that of a finite (4 + ?)th absolute moment of the kernel h, for some ? > 0. Our proof resembles part of Helmers and van Zwet (1982), where an analogous result is obtained for the Student t-statistic. The present note extends this to Studentized U-statistics.     

Bootstrap for U-statistics: a new approach

Bootstrap for nonlinear statistics like U-statistics of dependent data has been studied by several authors. This is typically done by producing a bootstrap version of the sample and plugging it into the statistic. We suggest an alternative approach of getting a bootstrap version of U-statistics. We will show the consistency of the new method and compare its finite sample properties in a simulation study and by applying both methods to financial data.     

Unbiased Estimation of Central Moments by using U-statistics

We obtain an estimator of the r th central moment of a distribution, which is unbiased for all distributions for which the first r moments exist. We do this by finding the kernel which allows the r th central moment to be written as a regular statistical functional. The U-statistic associated with this kernel is the unique symmetric unbiased estimator of the r th central moment, and, for each distribution, it has minimum variance among all estimators which are unbiased for all these distributions.     

On Berry-Esseen theorem for some functions of U-statistics

The rate of convergence in the central limit theorem and in the random central limit theorem for some functions of U-statistics are established. The theorems refer to the asymptotic behaviour of the sequence {g(U_n),n≥1}, where g belongs to the class of all differentiable functions g such that g′εL(δ) and U_n is a U-statistics.     

Invariant co-ordinate selection

Summary.  A general method for exploring multivariate data by comparing different estimates of multivariate scatter is presented. The method is based on the eigenvalue–eigenvector decomposition of one scatter matrix relative to another. In particular, it is shown that the eigenvectors can be used to generate an affine invariant co-ordinate system for the multivariate data. Consequently, we view this method as a method for invariant co-ordinate selection . By plotting the data with respect to this new invariant co-ordinate system, various data structures can be revealed. For example, under certain independent components models, it is shown that the invariant co- ordinates correspond to the independent components. Another example pertains to mixtures of elliptical distributions. In this case, it is shown that a subset of the invariant co-ordinates corresponds to Fisher's linear discriminant subspace, even though the class identifications of the data points are unknown. Some illustrative examples are given.     

Non-Gaussian limit distributions for U-statistics based on trimmed and Winsorized samples

Conditions ensuring the asymptotic normality of U-statistics based on either trimmed samples or Winsorized samples are well known [P. Janssen, R. Serfling, and N. Veraverbeke, Asymptotic normality of U-statistics based on trimmed samples, J. Statist. Plann. Inference 16 (1987), pp. 63–74; U-statistics on Winsorized and trimmed samples, Statist. Probab. Lett. 9 (1990), pp. 439–447]. However, the class of U-statistics has a much richer family of limiting distributions. This paper complements known results by providing general limit theorems for U-statistics based on trimmed or Winsorized samples where the limiting distribution is given in terms of multiple Ito–Wiener stochastic integrals.     

Invariance principles for jackknifing U-statistics for finite population sampling and some applications

For simple random sampling (without replacement) from a finite population, suitable stochastic processes are constructed from the entire sequence of jackknife estimators based on smooth functions of U-statistics and these are approximated (in distributions) by some Brownian bridge processes. Strong convergence of the Tukey estimator of the variance of a jackknife U-statistic has been interpreted suitably and established. Some applications of these results in sequential analysis relating to finite population sampling are also considered.     

On U-statistics and von Mises statistics for a special class of Markov chains

We derive the Berry-Esséen theorem with optimal convergence rate for U-statistics and von Mises statistics associated with a special class of Markov chains occuring in the theory of dependence with complete connections.     

A pilot Monte Carlo study of two sequential estimation procedures based on generalized U-statistics

Recently two sequential estimation procedures based on generalized U-statistics have appeared in the statistical literature [Williams and Sen (1973, 1974)]. One of these procedures concerns the multi-sample problem of estimating a vector of parameters when the total sample size is fixed. The other procedure concerns the multi-sample problem of constructing a confidence ellipsoid of bounded maximum width for a vector of parameters. To supplement the asymptotic theory discussed in these earlier papers, a Monte Carlo study investigating the efficiency of these procedures for moderate sample sizes would be useful. This paper describes a preliminary Monte Carlo study utilizing a small number of replications and performed to provide information for the design of a more extensive study.     

Maximal Invariant and Weakly Equivariant Estimators

Equivariant functions can be useful for constructing of maximal invariant statistic. In this article, we discuss construction of maximal invariants based on a given weakly equivariant function under some additional conditions. The theory easily extends to the case of two or more weakly equivariant functions. Also, we derive a maximal invariant statistic when the group contains a sharply transitive and a characteristic subgroup. Finally, we consider the independence of invariant and weakly equivariant functions under some special conditions.     

Ancillary Statistics Which are Not Invariant

This note gives some examples of ancillary statistics, which are not invariant in a normal location-parameter family.     

Quasi Most Powerful Invariant Goodness-of-fit Tests

ABSTRACT.  In this paper, we develop an approximation for the most powerful invariant test of one location-scale family against another one. The approach is based on the Laplace method for integrals and yields a very accurate approximation of the density of a maximal invariant. Moreover, it can be applied to a much wider set of pairs of densities than previously possible. Many examples are worked out. The resulting test is easy to compute and its power is shown to be very close to that of the best test. By using versions of the Laplace method, the approach is extended to goodness-of-fit tests for residuals in regression and to some multivariate distributions. A small simulation study confirms the theoretical results. An example concludes the paper.     

Invariant dependence structure under univariate truncation

The class of all bivariate copulas that are invariant under univariate truncation is characterized. To this end, a family of bivariate copulas generated by a real-valued function is introduced. The obtained results are also used in order to show that the Clayton family of copulas (including its limiting elements) coincides with the class of copulas that are invariant under bivariate truncation and contains all exchangeable copulas which are invariant under univariate truncation.