1,031 research outputs found
Oracle Inequalities for Convex Loss Functions with Non-Linear Targets
This paper consider penalized empirical loss minimization of convex loss
functions with unknown non-linear target functions. Using the elastic net
penalty we establish a finite sample oracle inequality which bounds the loss of
our estimator from above with high probability. If the unknown target is linear
this inequality also provides an upper bound of the estimation error of the
estimated parameter vector. These are new results and they generalize the
econometrics and statistics literature. Next, we use the non-asymptotic results
to show that the excess loss of our estimator is asymptotically of the same
order as that of the oracle. If the target is linear we give sufficient
conditions for consistency of the estimated parameter vector. Next, we briefly
discuss how a thresholded version of our estimator can be used to perform
consistent variable selection. We give two examples of loss functions covered
by our framework and show how penalized nonparametric series estimation is
contained as a special case and provide a finite sample upper bound on the mean
square error of the elastic net series estimator.Comment: 44 page
Debt, Trade, and Payments Issues of Developing Countries and U.S.-Mexican Economic Interdependencies
Debt problems of developing countries seriously constrain their economic and social development as well as the prospects and pace of economic recovery in the developed countries. Debt and trade problems of Mexico are particularly important for the U.S. agricultural economy because of the size and importance of U.S.-Mexican agricultural trade. The importance of Mexico as a U.S. trading partner lends importance to research on Mexican supply, demand, and trade of agricultural commodities and on macroeconomic and monetary policies affecting Mexico's demand and capacity to import. The ninth meeting of the Consortium on Trade Research focused on the debt, trade, and payments problems of developing countries and on U.S.-Mexican economic relationships.Debt, trade, Mexico, United States, agricultural policy, research., International Relations/Trade,
Power in High-Dimensional Testing Problems
Fan et al. (2015) recently introduced a remarkable method for increasing
asymptotic power of tests in high-dimensional testing problems. If applicable
to a given test, their power enhancement principle leads to an improved test
that has the same asymptotic size, uniformly non-inferior asymptotic power, and
is consistent against a strictly broader range of alternatives than the
initially given test. We study under which conditions this method can be
applied and show the following: In asymptotic regimes where the dimensionality
of the parameter space is fixed as sample size increases, there often exist
tests that can not be further improved with the power enhancement principle.
However, when the dimensionality of the parameter space increases sufficiently
slowly with sample size and a marginal local asymptotic normality (LAN)
condition is satisfied, every test with asymptotic size smaller than one can be
improved with the power enhancement principle. While the marginal LAN condition
alone does not allow one to extend the latter statement to all rates at which
the dimensionality increases with sample size, we give sufficient conditions
under which this is the case.Comment: 27 page
THE ACCURACY OF REGRESSION PROGRAMS: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,
TRADE IMPACTS OF VOLUNTARY QUALITY STANDARDS FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS
This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Studies, Massey University. Dietary changes, especially in developing countries, are driving a massive increase in demand for livestock products. The objective of this symposium was to examine the consequences of this phenomenon, which some have even called a "revolution." How are dietary patterns changing, and can increased demands for livestock products be satisfied from domestic resources? If so, at what cost? What will be the flow-on impacts, for example, in terms of increased demands for feedgrains and the pressures for change within marketing systems? A supply-side response has been the continued development of large-scale, urban-based industrial livestock production systems that in many cases give rise to environmental concerns. If additional imports seem required, where will they originate and what about food security in the importing regions? How might market access conditions be re-negotiated to make increased imports achievable? Other important issues discussed involved food safety, animal health and welfare and the adoption of biotechnology, and their interactions with the negotiation of reforms to domestic and trade policies. Individual papers from this conference are available on AgEcon Search. If you would like to see the complete agenda and set of papers from this conference, please visit the IATRC Symposium web page at: http://www1.umn.edu/iatrc.intro.htmInternational Relations/Trade,
THE PRODUCTIVITY AND ALLOCATION OF RESEARCH: U.S. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS
The main purpose of this paper is to present estimates of the marginal products and rates of return to the four major categories of agricultural research conducted by U.S. agricultural experiment stations (cash grains, poultry, dairy, and livestock).Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,
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