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Inference on Linear Programs via Feasibility Testing

Sofya Budanova, Eric Mbakop

arXiv 18 Oct 2026 · Econometrics

arXiv:2610.25453 · PDF · Extracted main text

Abstract

This paper studies inference on the value of a linear program (LP) when the objective and constraints are estimated. Using LP duality, we construct one- and two-sided confidence intervals by inverting tests of the feasibility of systems of linear inequalities. Existing tests yield asymptotically valid confidence intervals but can have poor power. We propose a modification that augments these systems with estimated “box constraints.” The resulting procedure has power against $N^{-1/2}$-local alternatives and yields confidence intervals of order $N^{-1/2}$. These results require only that the LP value be finite, and do not require compactness of the feasible region nor standard constraint qualifications. We obtain stronger guarantees under various constraint qualifications and establish uniform validity over large classes of DGPs when known deterministic constraints bound the primal and/or dual variables. Simulations demonstrate good finite-sample performance.

Citation extraction

38
references
206
in-text mentions
38
distinct cited
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self-citations
39,866
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
1Leonard Goff and Eric Mbakop (2025) Testing the Solvability of Systems of Linear Inequalities self1.000409100%
2Andrei Voronin Linear Programming Approach to Partially Identified Econometric Models1.000405100%
3Gregory Fletcher Cox and Xiaoxia Shi and Yuya Shimizu (2025) Testing Inequalities Linear in Nuisance Parameters1.000279100%
4Yuehao Bai and Kirill Ponomarev and Andres Santos and Azeem M. Shaik… (2026) Inference for Linear Systems with Unknown Coefficients1.000216100%
5Bulat Gafarov Simple subvector inference on sharp identified set in affine models1.000113100%
6Kalouptsidi, Myrto and Kitamura, Yuichi and Lima, Lucas and Souza-Ro… (2026) Counterfactual Analysis for Structural Dynamic Discrete Choice Models1.000104100%
7Hongyu Chen and David Simchi-Levi and Ruoxuan Xiong (2026) Partial Identification under Missing Data Using Weak Shadow Variables from Pretrained Models1.00063100%
8Kalouptsidi, Myrto and Scott, Paul T. and Souza-Rodrigues, Eduardo (2021) Identification of Counterfactuals in Dynamic Discrete Choice Models0.87462100%
9JoonHwan Cho and Thomas M. Russell Simple Inference on Functionals of Set-Identified Parameters Defined by Linear Moments0.84333100%
10Wilson, Edwin B (1927) Probable inference, the law of succession, and statistical inference0.81142100%

Showing the top 10 of 38 scored citations.