English

Measuring the influence of the k-th largest variable on functions over the unit hypercube

Optimization and Control 2010-03-15 v1 Statistics Theory Statistics Theory

Abstract

By considering a least squares approximation of a given square integrable function f:[0,1]^n --> R by a shifted L-statistic function (a shifted linear combination of order statistics), we define an index which measures the global influence of the k-th largest variable on f. We show that this influence index has appealing properties and we interpret it as an average value of the difference quotient of f in the direction of the k-th largest variable or, under certain natural conditions on f, as an average value of the derivative of f in the direction of the k-th largest variable. We also discuss a few applications of this index in statistics and aggregation theory.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1003.2556,
  title  = {Measuring the influence of the k-th largest variable on functions over the unit hypercube},
  author = {Jean-Luc Marichal and Pierre Mathonet},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1003.2556},
  year   = {2010}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T14:57:11.865Z