Nonparametric Estimation of Distribution Functions of Nonstandard Mixtures

ABSTRACT

Nonstandard mixtures are those that result from a mixture of a discrete and a continuous random variable. They arise in practice, for example, in medical studies of exposure. Here, a random variable that models exposure might have a discrete mass point at no exposure, but otherwise may be continuous. In this article we explore estimating the distribution function associated with such a random variable from a nonparametric viewpoint. We assume that the locations of the discrete mass points are known so that we will be able to apply a classical nonparametric smoothing approach to the problem. The proposed estimator is a mixture of an empirical distribution function and a kernel estimate of a distribution function. A simple theoretical argument reveals that existing bandwidth selection algorithms can be applied to the smooth component of this estimator as well. The proposed approach is applied to two example sets of data.     

Uniform-in-bandwidth kernel estimation for censored data

We present a sharp uniform-in-bandwidth functional limit law for the increments of the Kaplan–Meier empirical process based upon right-censored random data. We apply this result to obtain limit laws for nonparametric kernel estimators of local functionals of lifetime densities, which are uniform with respect to the choices of bandwidth and kernel. These are established in the framework of convergence in probability, and we allow the bandwidth to vary within the complete range for which the estimators are consistent. We provide explicit values for the asymptotic limiting constant for the sup-norm of the estimation random error.     

Transformation-Kernel Estimation of Copula Densities

ABSTRACT

The standard kernel estimator of copula densities suffers from boundary biases and inconsistency due to unbounded densities. Transforming the domain of estimation into an unbounded one remedies both problems, but also introduces an unbounded multiplier that may produce erratic boundary behaviors in the final density estimate. We propose an improved transformation-kernel estimator that employs a smooth tapering device to counter the undesirable influence of the multiplier. We establish the theoretical properties of the new estimator and its automatic higher-order improvement under Gaussian copulas. We present two practical methods of smoothing parameter selection. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the competence of the proposed estimator in terms of global and tail performance. Two real-world examples are provided. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Fitting a multiple regression function

Consider the p-dimensional unit cube [0,1]^p, p≥1. Partition [0, 1]^p into n regions, R_1,n,…,R_n,n such that the volume Δ(R_j,n) is of order n^?1,j=1,…,n. Select and fix a point in each of these regions so that we have x⁽ⁿ⁾₁,…,x⁽ⁿ⁾_n. Suppose that associated with the j-th predictor vector x⁽ⁿ⁾_j there is an observable variable Y⁽ⁿ⁾_j, j=1,…,n, satisfying the multiple regression model $\text{Y}{}^{\mathrm{(n)}}{}_{\mathrm{j}}\text{=g(}\text{x}{}^{\mathrm{(n)}}{}_{\mathrm{j}}\text{)+e}{}^{\mathrm{(n)}}{}_{\mathrm{j}}$, where g is an unknown function defined on [0, 1]^pand {e⁽ⁿ⁾_j} are independent identically distributed random variables with Ee⁽ⁿ⁾₁=0 and Var e⁽ⁿ⁾₁=σ²<∞. This paper proposes as an estimator of g(x), where k(u) is a known p-dimensional bounded density and {a_n} is a sequence of reals converging to 0 asn→∞. Weak and strong consistency of g_n(x) and rates of convergence are obtained. Asymptoticnormality of the estimator is established. Also proposed is $\text{σ}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{n}}\text{=n}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{Σ}{}^{\mathrm{n}}{}_{\mathrm{j=1}}\text{(Y}{}^{\mathrm{(n)}}{}_{\mathrm{j}}\text{?g}{}_{\mathrm{n}}\text{(}\text{x}{}^{\mathrm{(n)}}{}_{\mathrm{j}}\text{))}{}^2$ as a consistent estimate of σ².     

SEMIFAR forecasts, with applications to foreign exchange rates

SEMIFAR models introduced in Beran (1997. Estimating trends, long-range dependence and nonstationarity, preprint) provide a semiparametric modelling framework that enables the data analyst to separate deterministic and stochastic trends as well as short- and long-memory components in an observed time series. A correct distinction between these components, and in particular, the decision which of the components may be present in the data have an important impact on forecasts. In this paper, forecasts and forecast intervals for SEMIFAR models are obtained. The forecasts are based on an extrapolation of the nonparametric trend function and optimal forecasts of the stochastic component. In the data analytical part of the paper, the proposed method is applied to foreign exchange rates from Europe and Asia.     

非参数随机条件持续期模型及其迭代算法

 随机条件持续期（SCD）模型能有效刻画超高频时间序列中持续期的变化,但该模型假定期望持续期生成机制固定,且模型参数估计存在一定的困难。文章在不假定条件均值形式和冲击项分布的基础上结合核估计方法提出了非参数SCD模型及其迭代求解方法。然后,基于TEACD(1,1)模型生成的模拟数据,将非参数SCD模型与用卡尔漫滤波进行伪似然估计的参数SCD模型和用Gibbs抽样进行马尔科夫蒙特卡罗估计的参数SCD模型的拟合效果进行比较,实证表明在大样本条件下非参数SCD模型的拟合效果与用MCMC估计的参数SCD模型的拟合结果相差不大,但明显优于用QML估计的参数SCD模型的拟合结果,且非参数SCD模型能为参数SCD模型的参数设定提供参考。     

Berry-Esseen-type bounds for the kernel estimator of conditional distribution and conditional quantiles

Berry-Esseen bounds of order O(n^−1/2) have been obtained for several classes of statistics. In this paper, the rates of convergence in central limit theorem for conditional empirical functions and conditional sample quantiles based on kernel estimators are studied for both conditional and unconditional distributions.     

Jackknife empirical likelihood-based inferences for Lorenz curve with kernel smoothing

The Lorenz curve describes the wealth proportion for an income-ordered population. In this paper, we introduce a kernel smoothing estimator for the Lorenz curve and propose a smoothed jackknife empirical likelihood method for constructing confidence intervals of Lorenz ordinates. Extensive simulation studies are conducted to evaluate finite sample performances of the proposed methods. A real dataset of Georgia professor’s income is used to illustrate the proposed methods.     

Relabel mixture models via modal clustering

Effectively solving the label switching problem is critical for both Bayesian and Frequentist mixture model analyses. In this article, a new relabeling method is proposed by extending a recently developed modal clustering algorithm. First, the posterior distribution is estimated by a kernel density from permuted MCMC or bootstrap samples of parameters. Second, a modal EM algorithm is used to find the m! symmetric modes of the KDE. Finally, samples that ascend to the same mode are assigned the same label. Simulations and real data applications demonstrate that the new method provides more accurate estimates than many existing relabeling methods.