On umvu estimators for the multivariate lognormal distribution and their variances

Uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimators of several parameters of the multivariate lognormal distribution are expressed by using the hypergeometric functions of matrix argument. And the variances are given in special cases.     

Uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimation in lognormal and related distributions

The uniformly mimimum variance unbiased estimators and their variances from independent samples of lognormal distributions are concisely expressed using the hypergeometric functions     

Cramér-Rao lower bounds for estimators based on censored data

The Cramér-Rao lower bounds for the variances of unbiased estimators based on censored data are given. Useful techniques of evaluation are then derived for these lower bounds. Examples are given to illustrate these techniques. Small-sample comparisons are made between the resulting lower bounds, the variances of the best linear unbiased estimators, and the variances of unbiased esti-mators which are based on the maximum likelihood estimators.     

Estimation of the process incapability index

Greenwich and Jahr-Schaffrath (1995) introduced a new index C _pp a simple transformation of the index C _pm , which provides an uncontaminated separation between information concerning process accuracy and process precision. Under the assumption of normality, we first show that the estimators of C _pp proposed by Greenwich and Jahr-Schaffrath (1995) are UMVU estimators. We also show that for the inaccuracy index, the variance of the unbiased estimator is smaller than the mean squared error (MSE) of the natural (biased) estimator for n > 3. In addition, we obtain the r-th moment and the probability density function of these estimators.     

On Asymptotic Deficiency of Estimators

The notion of deficiency was introduced by Hodges and Lehmann. It is known that best asymptotically normal (BAN) estimators are second order asymptotically efficient in the class A₂ of all second order asymptotically median unbiased estimators. In this paper it is shown that the asymptotic deficiency of any two estimators in the restricted class D of the third order asymptotically median unbiased BAN estimators is given by the difference between the coefficients of order n^-1 of the variances of the estimators.     

Estimation of a population size through capture-mark-recapture method: a comparison of various point and interval estimators

This article deals with the estimation of a fixed population size through capture-mark-recapture method that gives rise to hypergeometric distribution. There are a few well-known and popular point estimators available in the literature, but no good comprehensive comparison is available about their merits. Apart from the available estimators, an empirical Bayes (EB) estimator of the population size is proposed. We compare all the point estimators in terms of relative bias and relative mean squared error. Next, two new interval estimators – (a) an EB highest posterior distribution interval and (b) a frequentist interval estimator based on a parametric bootstrap method, are proposed. The comparison is then carried among the two proposed interval estimators and interval estimators derived from the currently available estimators in terms of coverage probability and average length (AL). Based on comprehensive numerical results, we rank and recommend the point estimators as well as interval estimators for practical use. Finally, a real-life data set for a green treefrog population is used as a demonstration for all the methods discussed.     

Small-sample behavior of weighted least squares in experimental design applications

In experimental design applications unbiased estimators s_i ² of the variances σ_i ² are possible. These estimators may be used in Weighted Least Squares (WLS) when estimating the parameters β. The resulting small-sample behavior is investigated in a Monte Carlo experiment. This experiment shows that an asymptotically valid covariance formula can be used if s_i ² is based on, say, at least 5 observations. The WLS estimator based on estimators s_i ² gives more accurate estimators of β, provided the σ_i ² differ by a factor, say, 10.     

Reliability estimation based on ranked set sampling

In this paper we consider the problem of estimating the reliability of an exponential component based on a Ranked Set Sample (RSS) of size n. Given the first r observations of that sample, 1≤r≤n, we construct an unbiased estimator for this reliability and we show that these n unbiased estimators are the only ones in a certain class of estimators. The variances of some of these estimators are compared. By viewing the observations of the RSS of size n as the lifetimes of n independent k-out-of-n systems, 1≤k≤n, we are able to utilize known properties of these systems in conjunction with the powerful tools of majorization and Schur functions to derive our results.     

On estimation of the scale matrix of the multivariate f distribution

Let F _p×phave a multivariate F distribution with a scale p×p matrix Δ and degrees of freedom k₁ and k₂ such that k_i - p - 1 > 0, i = 1,2. The estimation of Δ under entropy and squared error loss functions are considered. In both cases a new class of orthogonally invariant estimators are obtained which dominate the best unbiased estimator.     

Estimation of parameters of bivariate normal distribution using concomitants of record values

In this paper, we discuss the concomitants of record values arising from the well-known bivariate normal distribution BVND(μ₁, μ₂,σ₁,σ₂, ρ). We have obtained the best linear unbiased estimators of μ₂ and σ₂ when ρ is known and derived some unbiased linear estimators of ρ when μ₂ and σ₂ are known, based on the concomitants of first n record values. The variances of these estimators have been obtained.     

Recurrence relations for single and product moments of progressively Type-II censored order statistics from generalized logistic distribution with applications to inference

In this article, we establish several recurrence relations for the single and product moments of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from a generalized logistic distribution. The use of these relations in a systematic manner allow us to compute all the means, variances, and covariances of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from the generalized logistic distribution for all sample sizes n, effective sample sizes m, and all progressive censoring schemes (R₁, …, R_m). These moments are then utilized to derive best linear unbiased estimators of the scale and location-scale parameters of the generalized logistic distribution. A comparison of these estimators with the maximum likelihood estimates is then made through Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, the best linear unbiased predictors of censored failure times is discussed briefly.     

Efficient sequential estimation in a markov branching process with immigration

Sequential estimation of parameters In a continuous time Markov branching process with Immigration with split rate λ₁ Immigration rate λ₂, offspring distribution {p₁j≥O) and Immigration distribution {p₂j≥l} is considered. A sequential version of the Cramér-Rao type information inequality is derived which gives a lower bound on the variances of unbiased estimators for any function of these parameters. Attaining the lower bounds depends on whether the sampling plan or stopping rule S, the estimator f, and the parametric function g = E(f) are efficient. All efficient triples (S,f,g) are characterized; It Is shown that for i = 1,2, only linear combinations of λ_ip_{ij j}'s or their ratios are efficiently estimable. Applications to a Yule process, a linear birth and death process with immigration and an M/M/∞ queue are also considered     

Performance of Interval Estimators for the Inverse Hypergeometric Distribution

The inverse hypergeometric distribution is of interest in applications of inverse sampling without replacement from a finite population where a binary observation is made on each sampling unit. Thus, sampling is performed by randomly choosing units sequentially one at a time until a specified number of one of the two types is selected for the sample. Assuming the total number of units in the population is known but the number of each type is not, we consider the problem of estimating this parameter. We use the Delta method to develop approximations for the variance of three parameter estimators. We then propose three large sample confidence intervals for the parameter. Based on these results, we selected a sampling of parameter values for the inverse hypergeometric distribution to empirically investigate performance of these estimators. We evaluate their performance in terms of expected probability of parameter coverage and confidence interval length calculated as means of possible outcomes weighted by the appropriate outcome probabilities for each parameter value considered. The unbiased estimator of the parameter is the preferred estimator relative to the maximum likelihood estimator and an estimator based on a negative binomial approximation, as evidenced by empirical estimates of closeness to the true parameter value. Confidence intervals based on the unbiased estimator tend to be shorter than the two competitors because of its relatively small variance but at a slight cost in terms of coverage probability.     

Comparison of normal variance estimators under multiple criteria and towards a compromise estimator

For estimating a normal variance under the squared error loss function it is well known that the best affine (location and scale) equivariant estimator, which is better than the maximum likelihood estimator as well as the unbiased estimator, is also inadmissible. The improved estimators, e.g., stein type, brown type and Brewster–Zidek type, are all scale equivariant but not location invariant. Lately, a good amount of research has been done to compare the improved estimators in terms of risk, but comparatively less attention had been paid to compare these estimators in terms of the Pitman nearness criterion (PNC) as well as the stochastic domination criterion (SDC). In this paper, we have undertaken a comprehensive study to compare various variance estimators in terms of the PNC and the SDC, which has been long overdue. Finally, using the results for risk, the PNC and the SDC, we propose a compromise estimator (sort of a robust estimator) which appears to work ‘well’ under all the criteria discussed above.     

A comparison of estimators for the proportion in the tail of a normal distribution

Three estimators of the proportion in a tail of the normal distribution are compared using the criteria of mean squared error and mean absolute error. The estimators that we compare are the maximum likelihood estimator, the minimum variance unbiased estimator, and an intuitive estimator that is frequently used in practice. The intuitive estimator is similar to the MLE but uses the usual unbiased estimator of σ² rather than the MLE of σ². We show that the intuitive estimator has low efficiency, and for this reason it is not recommended. For very smallp and for largep the MVUE has the highest efficiency. The MLE is best for moderate values ofp.     

Efficient estimators for adaptive stratified sequential sampling

In stratified sampling, methods for the allocation of effort among strata usually rely on some measure of within-stratum variance. If we do not have enough information about these variances, adaptive allocation can be used. In adaptive allocation designs, surveys are conducted in two phases. Information from the first phase is used to allocate the remaining units among the strata in the second phase. Brown et al. [Adaptive two-stage sequential sampling, Popul. Ecol. 50 (2008), pp. 239–245] introduced an adaptive allocation sampling design – where the final sample size was random – and an unbiased estimator. Here, we derive an unbiased variance estimator for the design, and consider a related design where the final sample size is fixed. Having a fixed final sample size can make survey-planning easier. We introduce a biased Horvitz–Thompson type estimator and a biased sample mean type estimator for the sampling designs. We conduct two simulation studies on honey producers in Kurdistan and synthetic zirconium distribution in a region on the moon. Results show that the introduced estimators are more efficient than the available estimators for both variable and fixed sample size designs, and the conventional unbiased estimator of stratified simple random sampling design. In order to evaluate efficiencies of the introduced designs and their estimator furthermore, we first review some well-known adaptive allocation designs and compare their estimator with the introduced estimators. Simulation results show that the introduced estimators are more efficient than available estimators of these well-known adaptive allocation designs.     

Sequential estimators and the Cramér-Rao lower bound

While all nonsequential unbiased estimators of the normal mean have variances which must obey the Cramér-Rao inequality, it is shown that some sequential unbiased estimators do not.     

Estimating pareto quantiles using two order statistics

Asymptotically best linear unbiased estimators of the population quantiles for the location-scale Pareto distribution with fixed shape parameter are obtained using two suitably chosen order statistics. Formulae for the appropriate order statistics, coefficients, variances, and asymptotic relative efficiencies (relative to the usual non-parametric estimator for quantiles) are given     

VARIANCE ESTIMATION IN MULTI-STAGE SAMPLING

In multi-stage sampling with the first stage units (fsu) chosen without replacement (WOR) with varying probability schemes (VPS) unbiased estimators (UE) of variances of homogeneous linear (HL) functions of unbiased estimators (UE) T_i's of fsu totals Y_i's based on selection of subsequent stage units (SSU) from chosen fsu's are derived as homogeneous quadratic (HQ) functions of alternative less efficient UE's, say of T_i';'s of Y_i's. Specific strategies are illustrated.     

Estimation of a multivariate mean with constraints on the norm

Estimation of the mean θ of a spherical distribution with prior knowledge concerning the norm ||θ|| is considered. The best equivariant estimator is obtained for the local problem ||θ|| = λ₀, and its risk is evaluated. This yields a sharp lower bound for the risk functions of a large class of estimators. The risk functions of the best equivariant estimator and the best linear estimator are compared under departures from the assumption ||θ|| = λ₀.