Related papers: Solving the Likelihood Equations
A method for computing probabilistic propositions is presented. It assumes the availability of a single external routine for computing the probability of one instantiated variable, given a conjunction of other instantiated variables. In…
Functional data analysis in a mixed-effects model framework is done using operator calculus. In this approach the functional parameters are treated as serially correlated effects giving an alternative to the penalized likelihood approach,…
This paper gives a new approach for the maximum likelihood estimation of the joint of the location and scale of the Cauchy distribution. We regard the joint as a single complex parameter and derive a new form of the likelihood equation of a…
Maximum composite likelihood estimation is a useful alternative to maximum likelihood estimation when data arise from data generating processes (DGPs) that do not admit tractable joint specification. We demonstrate that generic composite…
Multiple root estimation problems in statistical inference arise in many contexts in the literature. In the context of maximum likelihood estimation, the existence of multiple roots causes uncertainty in the computation of maximum…
Profile likelihood is the key tool for dealing with nuisance parameters in likelihood theory. It is often asserted, however, that profile likelihood is not a 'true' likelihood. One implication is that likelihood theory lacks the generality…
An often-cited fact regarding mixing or mixture distributions is that their density functions are able to approximate the density function of any unknown distribution to arbitrary degrees of accuracy, provided that the mixing or mixture…
In spatial statistics, fast and accurate parameter estimation, coupled with a reliable means of uncertainty quantification, can be challenging when fitting a spatial process to real-world data because the likelihood function might be slow…
Maximum likelihood (ML) estimation is widely used in statistics. The h-likelihood has been proposed as an extension of Fisher's likelihood to statistical models including unobserved latent variables of recent interest. Its advantage is that…
A loss function measures the discrepancy between the true values (observations) and their estimated fits, for a given instance of data. A loss function is said to be proper (unbiased, Fisher consistent) if the fits are defined over a unit…
Randomized higher-order computation can be seen as being captured by a lambda calculus endowed with a single algebraic operation, namely a construct for binary probabilistic choice. What matters about such computations is the probability of…
Biclustering, the process of simultaneously clustering the rows and columns of a data matrix, is a popular and effective tool for finding structure in a high-dimensional dataset. Many biclustering procedures appear to work well in practice,…
A general notion of algebraic conditional plausibility measures is defined. Probability measures, ranking functions, possibility measures, and (under the appropriate definitions) sets of probability measures can all be viewed as defining…
Algorithms for jointly obtaining projection estimates of the density and distribution function of a random variable using Legendre polynomials are proposed. For these algorithms, a problem of the conditional optimization is solved. Such…
Protesting mildly against the notion of an exactly correct parametric model the view is adopted that the logistic regression equation is merely an approximation to the underlying, true function. The behaviour of likelihood based estimators…
A maximum likelihood method is used to deal with the combined estimation of multi-measurements of a branching ratio, where each result can be presented as an upper limit. The joint likelihood function is constructed using observed spectra…
In this pedagogical text aimed at those wanting to start thinking about or brush up on probabilistic inference, I review the rules by which probability distribution functions can (and cannot) be combined. I connect these rules to the…
It is well-known that in some situations it is not easy to compute the likelihood function as the datasets might be large or the model is too complex. In that contexts composite likelihood, derived by multiplying the likelihoods of subjects…
Consider the set of solutions to a system of polynomial equations in many variables. An algebraic manifold is an open submanifold of such a set. We introduce a new method for computing integrals and sampling from distributions on algebraic…
Many models require integrals of high-dimensional functions: for instance, to obtain marginal likelihoods. Such integrals may be intractable, or too expensive to compute numerically. Instead, we can use the Laplace approximation (LA). The…