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Parameter identifiability in a class of random graph mixture models
We prove identifiability of parameters for a broad class of random graph
mixture models. These models are characterized by a partition of the set of
graph nodes into latent (unobservable) groups. The connectivities between nodes
are independent random variables when conditioned on the groups of the nodes
being connected. In the binary random graph case, in which edges are either
present or absent, these models are known as stochastic blockmodels and have
been widely used in the social sciences and, more recently, in biology. Their
generalizations to weighted random graphs, either in parametric or
non-parametric form, are also of interest in many areas. Despite a broad range
of applications, the parameter identifiability issue for such models is
involved, and previously has only been touched upon in the literature. We give
here a thorough investigation of this problem. Our work also has consequences
for parameter estimation. In particular, the estimation procedure proposed by
Frank and Harary for binary affiliation models is revisited in this article
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