arXiv subjects

Michael Jansson

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Jansson.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Robust Inference for Convex Pairwise Difference Estimators

This paper develops distribution theory and bootstrap-based inference methods for a broad class of convex pairwise difference estimators. These estimators minimize a kernel-weighted convex-in-parameter function over observation pairs with similar covariates, where the similarity is governed by a localization (bandwidth) parameter. While classical results establish asymptotic normality under restrictive bandwidth conditions, we show that valid Gaussian and bootstrap-based inference remains possible under substantially weaker assumptions. First, we extend the theory of small bandwidth asymptotics to convex pairwise difference estimation settings, deriving robust Gaussian approximations even when a smaller than standard bandwidth is used. Second, we employ a debiasing procedure based on generalized jackknifing to enable inference with larger bandwidths, while preserving convexity of the objective function. Third, we construct a novel bootstrap method that adjusts for bandwidth-induced variance distortions, yielding valid inference across a wide range of bandwidth choices. Our proposed inference method enjoys demonstrably greater robustness, while retaining the practical appeal of convex pairwise difference estimators.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2025

Continuity of the Distribution Function of the argmax of a Gaussian Process

Certain extremum estimators have asymptotic distributions that are non-Gaussian, yet characterizable as the distribution of the $\argmax$ of a Gaussian process. This paper presents high-level sufficient conditions under which such asymptotic distributions admit a continuous distribution function. The plausibility of the sufficient conditions is demonstrated by verifying them in three examples, namely maximum score estimation, empirical risk minimization, and threshold regression estimation. In turn, the continuity result buttresses several recently proposed inference procedures whose validity seems to require a result of the kind established herein. A notable feature of the high-level assumptions is that one of them is designed to enable us to employ the Cameron-Martin theorem. In a leading special case, the assumption in question is demonstrably weak and appears to be close to minimal.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2023

Bootstrap-Assisted Inference for Generalized Grenander-type Estimators

Westling and Carone (2020) proposed a framework for studying the large sample distributional properties of generalized Grenander-type estimators, a versatile class of nonparametric estimators of monotone functions. The limiting distribution of those estimators is representable as the left derivative of the greatest convex minorant of a Gaussian process whose monomial mean can be of unknown order (when the degree of flatness of the function of interest is unknown). The standard nonparametric bootstrap is unable to consistently approximate the large sample distribution of the generalized Grenander-type estimators even if the monomial order of the mean is known, making statistical inference a challenging endeavour in applications. To address this inferential problem, we present a bootstrap-assisted inference procedure for generalized Grenander-type estimators. The procedure relies on a carefully crafted, yet automatic, transformation of the estimator. Moreover, our proposed method can be made ``flatness robust'' in the sense that it can be made adaptive to the (possibly unknown) degree of flatness of the function of interest. The method requires only the consistent estimation of a single scalar quantity, for which we propose an automatic procedure based on numerical derivative estimation and the generalized jackknife. Under random sampling, our inference method can be implemented using a computationally attractive exchangeable bootstrap procedure. We illustrate our methods with examples and we also provide a small simulation study. The development of formal results is made possible by some technical results that may be of independent interest.

math.ST↗

arXiv2022

Higher-order Refinements of Small Bandwidth Asymptotics for Density-Weighted Average Derivative Estimators

The density weighted average derivative (DWAD) of a regression function is a canonical parameter of interest in economics. Classical first-order large sample distribution theory for kernel-based DWAD estimators relies on tuning parameter restrictions and model assumptions that imply an asymptotic linear representation of the point estimator. These conditions can be restrictive, and the resulting distributional approximation may not be representative of the actual sampling distribution of the statistic of interest. In particular, the approximation is not robust to bandwidth choice. Small bandwidth asymptotics offers an alternative, more general distributional approximation for kernel-based DWAD estimators that allows for, but does not require, asymptotic linearity. The resulting inference procedures based on small bandwidth asymptotics were found to exhibit superior finite sample performance in simulations, but no formal theory justifying that empirical success is available in the literature. Employing Edgeworth expansions, this paper shows that small bandwidth asymptotic approximations lead to inference procedures with higher-order distributional properties that are demonstrably superior to those of procedures based on asymptotic linear approximations.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Boundary Adaptive Local Polynomial Conditional Density Estimators

We begin by introducing a class of conditional density estimators based on local polynomial techniques. The estimators are boundary adaptive and easy to implement. We then study the (pointwise and) uniform statistical properties of the estimators, offering characterizations of both probability concentration and distributional approximation. In particular, we establish uniform convergence rates in probability and valid Gaussian distributional approximations for the Studentized t-statistic process. We also discuss implementation issues such as consistent estimation of the covariance function for the Gaussian approximation, optimal integrated mean squared error bandwidth selection, and valid robust bias-corrected inference. We illustrate the applicability of our results by constructing valid confidence bands and hypothesis tests for both parametric specification and shape constraints, explicitly characterizing their approximation errors. A companion R software package implementing our main results is provided.

math.ST↗

arXiv2022

lpcde: Estimation and Inference for Local Polynomial Conditional Density Estimators

This paper discusses the R package lpcde, which stands for local polynomial conditional density estimation. It implements the kernel-based local polynomial smoothing methods introduced in Cattaneo, Chandak, Jansson, Ma (2024) for statistical estimation and inference of conditional distributions, densities, and derivatives thereof. The package offers mean square error optimal bandwidth selection and associated point estimators, as well as uncertainty quantification based on robust bias correction both pointwise (e.g., confidence intervals) and uniformly (e.g., confidence bands) over evaluation points. The methods implemented are boundary adaptive whenever the data is compactly supported. The package also implements regularized conditional density estimation methods, ensuring the resulting density estimate is non-negative and integrates to one. We contrast the functionalities of lpcde with existing open-source packages for conditional density estimation, and showcase its main features using simulated and real datasets. An abbreviated version of this article is published in Cattaneo, Chandak, Jansson, Ma (2025 JOSS).

stat.CO↗

arXiv2021

lpdensity: Local Polynomial Density Estimation and Inference

Density estimation and inference methods are widely used in empirical work. When the underlying distribution has compact support, conventional kernel-based density estimators are no longer consistent near or at the boundary because of their well-known boundary bias. Alternative smoothing methods are available to handle boundary points in density estimation, but they all require additional tuning parameter choices or other typically ad hoc modifications depending on the evaluation point and/or approach considered. This article discusses the R and Stata package lpdensity implementing a novel local polynomial density estimator proposed and studied in Cattaneo, Jansson, and Ma (2020, 2021), which is boundary adaptive and involves only one tuning parameter. The methods implemented also cover local polynomial estimation of the cumulative distribution function and density derivatives. In addition to point estimation and graphical procedures, the package offers consistent variance estimators, mean squared error optimal bandwidth selection, robust bias-corrected inference, and confidence bands construction, among other features. A comparison with other density estimation packages available in R using a Monte Carlo experiment is provided.

stat.CO↗

arXiv2021

Local Regression Distribution Estimators

This paper investigates the large sample properties of local regression distribution estimators, which include a class of boundary adaptive density estimators as a prime example. First, we establish a pointwise Gaussian large sample distributional approximation in a unified way, allowing for both boundary and interior evaluation points simultaneously. Using this result, we study the asymptotic efficiency of the estimators, and show that a carefully crafted minimum distance implementation based on "redundant" regressors can lead to efficiency gains. Second, we establish uniform linearizations and strong approximations for the estimators, and employ these results to construct valid confidence bands. Third, we develop extensions to weighted distributions with estimated weights and to local $L^{2}$ least squares estimation. Finally, we illustrate our methods with two applications in program evaluation: counterfactual density testing, and IV specification and heterogeneity density analysis. Companion software packages in Stata and R are available.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2020

Average Density Estimators: Efficiency and Bootstrap Consistency

This paper highlights a tension between semiparametric efficiency and bootstrap consistency in the context of a canonical semiparametric estimation problem, namely the problem of estimating the average density. It is shown that although simple plug-in estimators suffer from bias problems preventing them from achieving semiparametric efficiency under minimal smoothness conditions, the nonparametric bootstrap automatically corrects for this bias and that, as a result, these seemingly inferior estimators achieve bootstrap consistency under minimal smoothness conditions. In contrast, several "debiased" estimators that achieve semiparametric efficiency under minimal smoothness conditions do not achieve bootstrap consistency under those same conditions.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2020

Towards a General Large Sample Theory for Regularized Estimators

We present a general framework for studying regularized estimators; such estimators are pervasive in estimation problems wherein "plug-in" type estimators are either ill-defined or ill-behaved. Within this framework, we derive, under primitive conditions, consistency and a generalization of the asymptotic linearity property. We also provide data-driven methods for choosing tuning parameters that, under some conditions, achieve the aforementioned properties. We illustrate the scope of our approach by presenting a wide range of applications.

math.ST↗

arXiv2020

Bootstrap-Based Inference for Cube Root Asymptotics

This paper proposes a valid bootstrap-based distributional approximation for M-estimators exhibiting a Chernoff (1964)-type limiting distribution. For estimators of this kind, the standard nonparametric bootstrap is inconsistent. The method proposed herein is based on the nonparametric bootstrap, but restores consistency by altering the shape of the criterion function defining the estimator whose distribution we seek to approximate. This modification leads to a generic and easy-to-implement resampling method for inference that is conceptually distinct from other available distributional approximations. We illustrate the applicability of our results with four examples in econometrics and machine learning.

math.ST↗

arXiv2019

Simple Local Polynomial Density Estimators

This paper introduces an intuitive and easy-to-implement nonparametric density estimator based on local polynomial techniques. The estimator is fully boundary adaptive and automatic, but does not require pre-binning or any other transformation of the data. We study the main asymptotic properties of the estimator, and use these results to provide principled estimation, inference, and bandwidth selection methods. As a substantive application of our results, we develop a novel discontinuity in density testing procedure, an important problem in regression discontinuity designs and other program evaluation settings. An illustrative empirical application is given. Two companion Stata and R software packages are provided.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2018

Two-Step Estimation and Inference with Possibly Many Included Covariates

We study the implications of including many covariates in a first-step estimate entering a two-step estimation procedure. We find that a first order bias emerges when the number of \textit{included} covariates is "large" relative to the square-root of sample size, rendering standard inference procedures invalid. We show that the jackknife is able to estimate this "many covariates" bias consistently, thereby delivering a new automatic bias-corrected two-step point estimator. The jackknife also consistently estimates the standard error of the original two-step point estimator. For inference, we develop a valid post-bias-correction bootstrap approximation that accounts for the additional variability introduced by the jackknife bias-correction. We find that the jackknife bias-corrected point estimator and the bootstrap post-bias-correction inference perform excellent in simulations, offering important improvements over conventional two-step point estimators and inference procedures, which are not robust to including many covariates. We apply our results to an array of distinct treatment effect, policy evaluation, and other applied microeconomics settings. In particular, we discuss production function and marginal treatment effect estimation in detail.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2017

Inference in Linear Regression Models with Many Covariates and Heteroskedasticity

The linear regression model is widely used in empirical work in Economics, Statistics, and many other disciplines. Researchers often include many covariates in their linear model specification in an attempt to control for confounders. We give inference methods that allow for many covariates and heteroskedasticity. Our results are obtained using high-dimensional approximations, where the number of included covariates are allowed to grow as fast as the sample size. We find that all of the usual versions of Eicker-White heteroskedasticity consistent standard error estimators for linear models are inconsistent under this asymptotics. We then propose a new heteroskedasticity consistent standard error formula that is fully automatic and robust to both (conditional)\ heteroskedasticity of unknown form and the inclusion of possibly many covariates. We apply our findings to three settings: parametric linear models with many covariates, linear panel models with many fixed effects, and semiparametric semi-linear models with many technical regressors. Simulation evidence consistent with our theoretical results is also provided. The proposed methods are also illustrated with an empirical application.

math.ST↗

arXiv2015

Alternative Asymptotics and the Partially Linear Model with Many Regressors

Non-standard distributional approximations have received considerable attention in recent years. They often provide more accurate approximations in small samples, and theoretical improvements in some cases. This paper shows that the seemingly unrelated "many instruments asymptotics" and "small bandwidth asymptotics" share a common structure, where the object determining the limiting distribution is a V-statistic with a remainder that is an asymptotically normal degenerate U-statistic. We illustrate how this general structure can be used to derive new results by obtaining a new asymptotic distribution of a series estimator of the partially linear model when the number of terms in the series approximation possibly grows as fast as the sample size, which we call "many terms asymptotics".

math.ST↗