Inference And Asymptotics

Our book Asymptotic Techniquesfor Use in Statistics was originally planned as an account of asymptotic statistical theory, but by the time we had completed the mathematical preliminaries it seemed best to publish these separately. The present book, although largely self-contained, takes up the original theme and gives a systematic account of some recent developments in asymptotic parametric inference from a likelihood-based perspective. Chapters 1-4 are relatively elementary and provide first a review of key concepts such as likelihood, sufficiency, conditionality, ancillarity, exponential families and transformation models. Then first-order asymptotic theory is set out, followed by a discussion of the need for higher-order theory. This is then developed in some generality in Chapters 5-8. A final chapter deals briefly with some more specialized issues. The discussion emphasizes concepts and techniques rather than precise mathematical verifications with full attention to regularity conditions and, especially in the less technical chapters, draws quite heavily on illustrative examples. Each chapter ends with outline further results and exercises and with bibliographic notes. Many parts of the field discussed in this book are undergoing rapid further development, and in those parts the book therefore in some respects has more the flavour of a progress report than an exposition of a largely completed theory.

Likelihood and its many associated concepts are of central importance in statistical theory and applications. The theory of likelihood and of likelihood-like objects (pseudo-likelihoods) has undergone extensive and important developments over the past 10 to 15 years, in particular as regards higher order asymptotics. This book provides an account of this field, which is still vigorously expanding. Conditioning and ancillarity underlie the p*-formula, a key formula for the conditional density of the maximum likelihood estimator, given an ancillary statistic. Various types of pseudo-likelihood are discussed, including profile and partial likelihoods. Special emphasis is given to modified profile likelihood and modified directed likelihood, and their intimate connection with the p*-formula. Among the other concepts and tools employed are sufficiency, parameter orthogonality, invariance, stochastic expansions and saddlepoint approximations. Brief reviews are given of the most important properties of exponential and transformation models and these types of model are used as test-beds for the general asymptotic theory. A final chapter briefly discusses a number of more general issues, including prediction and randomization theory. The emphasis is on ideas and methods, and detailed mathematical developments are largely omitted. There are numerous notes and exercises, many indicating substantial further results.

Our book Asymptotic Techniquesfor Use in Statistics was originally planned as an account of asymptotic statistical theory, but by the time we had completed the mathematical preliminaries it seemed best to publish these separately. The present book, although largely self-contained, takes up the original theme and gives a systematic account of some recent developments in asymptotic parametric inference from a likelihood-based perspective. Chapters 1-4 are relatively elementary and provide first a review of key concepts such as likelihood, sufficiency, conditionality, ancillarity, exponential families and transformation models. Then first-order asymptotic theory is set out, followed by a discussion of the need for higher-order theory. This is then developed in some generality in Chapters 5-8. A final chapter deals briefly with some more specialized issues. The discussion emphasizes concepts and techniques rather than precise mathematical verifications with full attention to regularity conditions and, especially in the less technical chapters, draws quite heavily on illustrative examples. Each chapter ends with outline further results and exercises and with bibliographic notes. Many parts of the field discussed in this book are undergoing rapid further development, and in those parts the book therefore in some respects has more the flavour of a progress report than an exposition of a largely completed theory.

This monograph contains a comprehensive account of the recent work of the authors and other workers on large sample optimal inference for non-ergodic models. The non-ergodic family of models can be viewed as an extension of the usual Fisher-Rao model for asymptotics, referred to here as an ergodic family. The main feature of a non-ergodic model is that the sample Fisher information, appropriately normed, converges to a non-degenerate random variable rather than to a constant. Mixture experiments, growth models such as birth processes, branching processes, etc. , and non-stationary diffusion processes are typical examples of non-ergodic models for which the usual asymptotics and the efficiency criteria of the Fisher-Rao-Wald type are not directly applicable. The new model necessitates a thorough review of both technical and qualitative aspects of the asymptotic theory. The general model studied includes both ergodic and non-ergodic families even though we emphasise applications of the latter type. The plan to write the monograph originally evolved through a series of lectures given by the first author in a graduate seminar course at Cornell University during the fall of 1978, and by the second author at the University of Munich during the fall of 1979. Further work during 1979-1981 on the topic has resolved many of the outstanding conceptual and technical difficulties encountered previously. While there are still some gaps remaining, it appears that the mainstream development in the area has now taken a more definite shape.

This is the second edition of a coherent introduction to the subject of asymptotic statistics as it has developed over the past 50 years. It differs from the first edition in that it is now more 'reader friendly' and also includes a new chapter on Gaussian and Poisson experiments, reflecting their growing role in the field. Most of the subsequent chapters have been entirely rewritten and the nonparametrics of Chapter 7 have been amplified. The volume is not intended to replace monographs on specialized subjects, but will help to place them in a coherent perspective. It thus represents a link between traditional material - such as maximum likelihood, and Wald's Theory of Statistical Decision Functions -- together with comparison and distances for experiments. Much of the material has been taught in a second year graduate course at Berkeley for 30 years.

' Quantum statistical inference, a research field with deep roots in the foundations of both quantum physics and mathematical statistics, has made remarkable progress since 1990. In particular, its asymptotic theory has been developed during this period. However, there has hitherto been no book covering this remarkable progress after 1990; the famous textbooks by Holevo and Helstrom deal only with research results in the earlier stage (1960s-1970s). This book presents the important and recent results of quantum statistical inference. It focuses on the asymptotic theory, which is one of the central issues of mathematical statistics and had not been investigated in quantum statistical inference until the early 1980s. It contains outstanding papers after Holevo's textbook, some of which are of great importance but are not available now. The reader is expected to have only elementary mathematical knowledge, and therefore much of the content will be accessible to graduate students as well as research workers in related fields. Introductions to quantum statistical inference have been specially written for the book. Asymptotic Theory of Quantum Statistical Inference: Selected Papers will give the reader a new insight into physics and statistical inference. Contents:Hypothesis TestingQuantum Cramér-Rao Bound in Mixed States ModelQuantum Cramér-Rao Bound in Pure States ModelGroup Symmetric Approach to Pure States ModelLarge Deviation Theory in Quantum EstimationFuther Topics on Quantum Statistical Inference Readership: Graduate students in quantum physics, mathematical physics, and probability and statistics. Keywords:Quantum Information;Estimation Theory;Statistics;Statistical Inference;Mathematical Physics;Asymptotic Theory;Hypothesis TestingReviews:“This book will give the scholars new insight into physics and statistical inference.”Zentralblatt MATH '

This book is an introduction to the field of asymptotic statistics. The treatment is both practical and mathematically rigorous. In addition to most of the standard topics of an asymptotics course, including likelihood inference, M-estimation, the theory of asymptotic efficiency, U-statistics, and rank procedures, the book also presents recent research topics such as semiparametric models, the bootstrap, and empirical processes and their applications. The topics are organized from the central idea of approximation by limit experiments, which gives the book one of its unifying themes. This entails mainly the local approximation of the classical i.i.d. set up with smooth parameters by location experiments involving a single, normally distributed observation. Thus, even the standard subjects of asymptotic statistics are presented in a novel way. Suitable as a graduate or Master s level statistics text, this book will also give researchers an overview of the latest research in asymptotic statistics.

This book showcases the innovative research of Professor Skovgaard, by providing in one place a selection of his most important and influential papers. Introductions by colleagues set in context the highlights, key achievements, and impact, of each work. This book provides a survey of the field of asymptotic theory and inference as it was being pushed forward during an exceptionally fruitful time. It provides students and researchers with an overview of many aspects of the field.