每日简报

经验贝叶斯收缩通常不能纠正回归中的测量误差AI 解读

In the value-added literature, it is often claimed that regressing on empirical Bayes shrinkage estimates corrects for the measurement error problem in linear regression. We clarify the conditions needed; we argue that these conditions are stronger than the those needed for classical measurement error correction, which we advocate for instead. Moreover, we show that the classical estimator cannot be improved without stronger assumptions. We extend these results to…

We propose a dynamic multiplicative factor model for process data arising from complex problem-solving items, an emerging type of data in large-scale educational assessment. The proposed model can be viewed as an extension of the classical frailty models developed in survival analysis for multivariate recurrent event times, but with two important distinctions: (i) the factor (frailty) is of primary interest; (ii) covariates are internal and embedded in the factor. It allows…

利用多个环境双重稳健识别处理效应AI 解读

Practical and ethical constraints often require the use of observational data for causal inference, particularly in medicine and social sciences. Yet, observational datasets are prone to confounding, potentially compromising the validity of causal conclusions. While it is possible to correct for biases if the underlying causal graph is known, this is rarely a feasible ask in practical scenarios. A common strategy is to adjust for all available covariates, yet this approach…

差分隐私下的联合独立性检验AI 解读

Identification of joint dependence among several random vectors plays an important role in many statistical applications, where the data may contain sensitive or confidential information. In this paper, we consider the $d$-variable Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion (dHSIC) in the context of differential privacy. Given that the limiting distribution of the empirical estimate of dHSIC is a complicated Gaussian chaos, constructing tests in the non-private regime is…

观察数据因果推断中的最优传输入门AI 解读

The theory of optimal transportation has developed into a powerful and elegant framework for comparing probability distributions, with wide-ranging applications in all areas of science. The fundamental idea of analyzing probabilities by comparing their underlying state space naturally aligns with the core idea of causal inference, where understanding and quantifying counterfactual states is paramount. Despite this intuitive connection, explicit research at the intersection…

具有平稳有向无环图结构的高维时间序列贝叶斯推断AI 解读

In multivariate time series analysis, understanding the underlying causal relationships among variables is often of interest for various applications. Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) provide a powerful framework for representing causal dependencies. This paper proposes a novel Bayesian approach for modeling multivariate time series where conditional independencies and causal structure are encoded by a DAG. The proposed model allows structural properties such as stationarity…

高维因子模型中多重断点的分类与估计AI 解读

This paper proposes a quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) estimator for break points in high-dimensional factor models, specifically accounting for multiple structural breaks. We begin by establishing a necessary and sufficient condition to categorize two distinct types of breaks in factor loadings: singular changes and rotational changes. The analysis of the nearly singular subsample covariance matrices of the pseudo-factors plays a key role in our approach. It allows us to…

PLRD：部分线性断点回归推断AI 解读

Regression discontinuity designs have become one of the most popular research designs in empirical economics. We argue, however, that the widely used approaches to building confidence intervals in regression discontinuity designs often exhibit suboptimal behavior in practice. We propose a new estimator, the partially linear regression discontinuity (PLRD) estimator that, in set of a simulation studies carefully calibrated to twelve high-profile applications of regression…

非参数面板模型中平均处理效应的识别AI 解读

This paper studies identification of average treatment effects in a panel data setting. It introduces a novel nonparametric factor model and proves identification of average treatment effects. The identification proof is based on the introduction of a consistent estimator. Underlying the proof is a result that there is a consistent estimator for the expected outcome in the absence of the treatment for each unit and time period; this result can be applied more broadly, for…

FNETS：高维时间序列的因子调整网络估计与预测AI 解读

We propose FNETS, a methodology for network estimation and forecasting of high-dimensional time series exhibiting strong serial- and cross-sectional correlations. We operate under a factor-adjusted vector autoregressive (VAR) model which, after accounting for pervasive co-movements of the variables by {\it common} factors, models the remaining {\it idiosyncratic} dynamic dependence between the variables as a sparse VAR process. Network estimation of FNETS consists of three…

数百种机器学习分类器与离散选择模型的出行预测比较：实证基准AI 解读

Numerous studies have compared machine learning (ML) and discrete choice models (DCMs) in predicting travel demand. However, these studies often lack generalizability as they compare models deterministically without considering contextual variations. To address this limitation, our study develops an empirical benchmark by designing a tournament model, thus efficiently summarizing a large number of experiments, quantifying the randomness in model comparisons, and using formal…

断点回归设计中的噪声诱导随机化AI 解读

Regression discontinuity designs assess causal effects in settings where treatment is determined by whether an observed running variable crosses a pre-specified threshold. Here we propose a new approach to identification, estimation, and inference in regression discontinuity designs that uses knowledge about exogenous noise (e.g., measurement error) in the running variable. In our strategy, we weight treated and control units to balance a latent variable of which the running…

fabisearch：高维多元时间序列网络结构变点检测与可视化 R 包AI 解读

Change point detection is a commonly used technique in time series analysis, capturing the dynamic nature in which many real-world processes function. With the ever increasing troves of multivariate high-dimensional time series data, especially in neuroimaging and finance, there is a clear need for scalable and data-driven change point detection methods. Currently, change point detection methods for multivariate high-dimensional data are scarce, with even less available in…

未观测混杂下多处理因果推断的copula敏感性分析AI 解读

Recent work has focused on the potential and pitfalls of causal identification in observational studies with multiple simultaneous treatments. Building on previous work, we show that even if the conditional distribution of unmeasured confounders given treatments were known exactly, the causal effects would not in general be identifiable, although they may be partially identified. Given these results, we propose a sensitivity analysis method for characterizing the effects of…

部分识别下的最优决策规则AI 解读

I consider a class of statistical decision problems in which the policymaker must decide between two policies to maximize social welfare (e.g., the population mean of an outcome) based on a finite sample. The framework introduced in this paper allows for various types of restrictions on the structural parameter (e.g., the smoothness of a conditional mean potential outcome function) and accommodates settings with partial identification of social welfare. As the main…

网络干扰下的邻域自适应因果效应估计AI 解读

Estimating causal effects has become an integral part of most applied fields. In this work we consider the violation of the classical no-interference assumption with units connected by a network. For tractability, we consider a known network that describes how interference may spread. Unlike previous work the radius (and intensity) of the interference experienced by a unit is unknown and can depend on different (local) sub-networks and the assigned treatments. We study…

用双重差分评估政策效应异质性驱动因素的因果框架AI 解读

Policymakers and researchers often seek to understand how a policy differentially affects a population and the pathways driving this heterogeneity. For example, when studying an excise tax on sweetened beverages, researchers might assess the roles of cross-border shopping, economic competition, and store-level price changes on beverage sales trends. However, traditional policy evaluation tools, like the difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, primarily target average…

面板数据交互效应的估计AI 解读

This paper analyzes how interaction effects can be consistently estimated under economically plausible assumptions in linear panel models with a fixed $T$-dimension. We advocate for a \emph{correlated interaction term estimator} (CITE) and show that it is consistent under conditions that are not sufficient for consistency of the interaction term estimator that is most common in applied econometric work. Our paper discusses the empirical content of these conditions, shows…

通过序贯调整混杂与样本流失恢复因果效应并开展推断AI 解读

Confounding bias and selection bias bring two significant challenges to the validity of conclusions drawn from applied causal inference. The latter can stem from informative missingness, such as in cases of attrition. We introduce the Sequential Adjustment Criteria (SAC), which extend available graphical conditions for recovering causal effects from confounding and attrition using sequential regressions, allowing for the inclusion of post-exposure and forbidden variables in…

避孕产品需求预测的混合方法：结合点预测与概率分布AI 解读

Accurate demand forecasting is vital for ensuring reliable access to contraceptive products, supporting key processes like procurement, inventory, and distribution. However, forecasting contraceptive demand in developing countries presents challenges, including incomplete data, poor data quality, and the need to account for multiple geographical and product factors. Current methods often rely on simple forecasting techniques, which fail to capture demand uncertainties…

估计平均处理效应的双重机器学习方法：比较研究AI 解读

Observational cohort studies are increasingly being used for comparative effectiveness research to assess the safety of therapeutics. Recently, various doubly robust methods have been proposed for average treatment effect estimation by combining the treatment model and the outcome model via different vehicles, such as matching, weighting, and regression. The key advantage of doubly robust estimators is that they require either the treatment model or the outcome model to be…

中介与时变剂量反应曲线的序贯核嵌入AI 解读

We propose simple nonparametric estimators for mediated and time-varying dose response curves based on kernel ridge regression. By embedding Pearl's mediation formula and Robins' g-formula with kernels, we allow treatments, mediators, and covariates to be continuous in general spaces, and also allow for nonlinear treatment-confounder feedback. Our key innovation is a reproducing kernel Hilbert space technique called sequential kernel embedding, which we use to construct…

联邦因果推断：超越元分析的多研究平均处理效应估计AI 解读

We study Federated Causal Inference, an approach to estimate treatment effects from decentralized data across centers. We compare three classes of Average Treatment Effect (ATE) estimators derived from the Plug-in G-Formula, ranging from simple meta-analysis to one-shot and multi-shot federated learning, the latter leveraging the full data to learn the outcome model (albeit requiring more communication). Focusing on Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), we derive the…

利用辅助变量提高时变处理效应估计效率AI 解读

Contextual sensing and delivery of digital interventions to improve health outcomes have gained significant traction in behavioral and psychiatric studies. Micro-randomized trials (MRTs) are a common experimental design for obtaining data-driven evidence on the effectiveness of digital interventions where each individual is repeatedly randomized to receive treatments over numerous time points. Throughout the study, individual characteristics and contextual factors around…