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Target PCA: Transfer Learning Large Dimensional Panel Data

Junting Duan, Markus Pelger, Ruoxuan Xiong

arXiv 29 Aug 2023 · Econometrics · publishedJournal of Econometrics (2023) · 8 citations (OpenAlex)

arXiv:2308.15627 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

This paper develops a novel method to estimate a latent factor model for a large target panel with missing observations by optimally using the information from auxiliary panel data sets. We refer to our estimator as target-PCA. Transfer learning from auxiliary panel data allows us to deal with a large fraction of missing observations and weak signals in the target panel. We show that our estimator is more efficient and can consistently estimate weak factors, which are not identifiable with conventional methods. We provide the asymptotic inferential theory for target-PCA under very general assumptions on the approximate factor model and missing patterns. In an empirical study of imputing data in a mixed-frequency macroeconomic panel, we demonstrate that target-PCA significantly outperforms all benchmark methods.

Citation extraction

38
references
75
in-text mentions
38
distinct cited
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20,556
main-text words

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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
1Xiong and Pelger (2023) Large dimensional latent factor modeling with missing observations and applications to causal inference0.89718872%
2Bai and Ng (2002) Determining the number of factors in approximate factor models0.84333100%
3Bai (2003) Inferential theory for factor models of large dimensions0.8307457%
4Bai and Ng (2021) Matrix completion, counterfactuals, and factor analysis of missing data0.81142100%
5Cahan, Bai, and Ng (2023) Factor-based imputation of missing values and covariances in panel data of large dimensions0.81142100%
6Jin, Miao, and Su (2021) On factor models with random missing: EM estimation, inference, and cross validation0.73732100%
7Bai and Ng (2023) Approximate factor models with weaker loadings0.64422100%
8Huang, Jiang, Li, Tong, and Zhou (2022) Scaled PCA: A new approach to dimension reduction0.64422100%
9McCracken and Ng (2016) FRED-MD: A monthly database for macroeconomic research0.51121100%
10Chow and Lin (1971) Best linear unbiased interpolation, distribution, and extrapolation of time series by related series0.51121100%

Showing the top 10 of 38 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 Nonlinear Target-Factor Model with Attention Mechanism for Mixed-Frequency Data0.985235