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Shape-Enforcing Operators for Point and Interval Estimators

Xi Chen, Victor Chernozhukov, Iván Fernández-Val, Scott Kostyshak, Ye Luo

arXiv 4 Sep 2018 · Econometrics · 5 citations (OpenAlex)

arXiv:1809.01038 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

A common problem in econometrics, statistics, and machine learning is to estimate and make inference on functions that satisfy shape restrictions. For example, distribution functions are nondecreasing and range between zero and one, height growth charts are nondecreasing in age, and production functions are nondecreasing and quasi-concave in input quantities. We propose a method to enforce these restrictions ex post on point and interval estimates of the target function by applying functional operators. If an operator satisfies certain properties that we make precise, the shape-enforced point estimates are closer to the target function than the original point estimates and the shape-enforced interval estimates have greater coverage and shorter length than the original interval estimates. We show that these properties hold for six different operators that cover commonly used shape restrictions in practice: range, convexity, monotonicity, monotone convexity, quasi-convexity, and monotone quasi-convexity. We illustrate the results with two empirical applications to the estimation of a height growth chart for infants in India and a production function for chemical firms in China.

Citation extraction

71
references
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distinct cited
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Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Victor Chernozhukov, Iván Fernández-Val, and Alfred Galichon (2009) Improving point and interval estimators of monotone functions by rearrangement self1.00073100%
2RE Barlow, DJ Bartholomew, JM Bremner, and HD Brunk (1972) Statistical inference under order restrictions0.84333100%
3Joel L Horowitz and Sokbae Lee (2017) Nonparametric estimation and inference under shape restrictions0.73732100%
4Denis Chetverikov, Andres Santos, and Azeem M Shaikh (2018) The econometrics of shape restrictions0.73732100%
5Roger Koenker and Ivan Mizera (2010) Quasi-concave density estimation0.64422100%
6Victor Chernozhukov, Denis Chetverikov, and Kengo Kato Anti-concentration and honest, adaptive confidence bands self0.64422100%
7Evarist Giné and Richard Nickl (2010) Confidence bands in density estimation0.64422100%
8Brendan K Beare and Zheng Fang (2017) Weak convergence of the least concave majorant of estimators for a concave distribution function0.58531100%
9Lutz Dümbgen (2003) Optimal confidence bands for shape-restricted curves0.58531100%
10Adityanand Guntuboyina and Bodhisattva Sen (2018) Nonparametric shape-restricted regression0.58531100%

Showing the top 10 of 71 scored citations.

Cited by, within the corpus

arXiv econ.EM papers that cite this one, ranked by how heavily they lean on it.

Citing paperIntensityMentionsSections
1A Unifying Framework for Testing Shape Restrictions0.874112
2A Projection Framework for Testing Shape Restrictions That Form Convex Cones0.64432
3Network and Panel Quantile Effects Via Distribution Regression0.40511
4Linear Programming Approach to Nonparametric Inference under Shape Restrictions: with an Application to Regression Kink Designs0.40511