In this paper a new smooth backfitting estimate is proposed for additive regression models. The estimate has the simple structure of Nadaraya--Watson smooth backfitting but at the same time achieves the oracle property of local linear smooth backfitting. Each component is estimated with the same asymptotic accuracy as if the other components were known.
In this paper, we study the ordinary backfitting and smooth backfitting as methods of fitting additive quantile models. We show that these backfitting quantile estimators are asymptotically equivalent to the corresponding backfitting estimators of the additive components in a specially-designed additive mean regression model. This implies that the theoretical properties of the backfitting quantile estimators are not unlike those of backfitting mean regression estimators. We also assess the finite sample properties of the two backfitting quantile estimators.
The additive model is one of the most popular semiparametric models. The backfitting estimation (Buja, Hastie and Tibshirani, 1989, \textit{Ann. Statist.}) for the model is intuitively easy to understand and theoretically most efficient (Opsomer and Ruppert, 1997, \textit{Ann. Statist.}); its implementation is equivalent to solving simple linear equations. However, convergence of the algorithm is very difficult to investigate and is still unsolved. For bivariate additive models, Opsomer and Ruppert (1997, \textit{Ann. Statist.}) proved the convergence under a very strong condition and conjectu…
The smooth backfitting introduced by Mammen, Linton and Nielsen [Ann. Statist. 27 (1999) 1443-1490] is a promising technique to fit additive regression models and is known to achieve the oracle efficiency bound. In this paper, we propose and discuss three fully automated bandwidth selection methods for smooth backfitting in additive models. The first one is a penalized least squares approach which is based on higher-order stochastic expansions for the residual sums of squares of the smooth backfitting estimates. The other two are plug-in bandwidth selectors which rely on approximations of the …
Generalized additive models have been popular among statisticians and data analysts in multivariate nonparametric regression with non-Gaussian responses including binary and count data. In this paper, a new likelihood approach for fitting generalized additive models is proposed. It aims to maximize a smoothed likelihood. The additive functions are estimated by solving a system of nonlinear integral equations. An iterative algorithm based on smooth backfitting is developed from the Newton--Kantorovich theorem. Asymptotic properties of the estimator and convergence of the algorithm are discussed…
We discuss local linear smooth backfitting for additive non-parametric models. This procedure is well known for achieving optimal convergence rates under appropriate smoothness conditions. In particular, it allows for the estimation of each component of an additive model with the same asymptotic accuracy as if the other components were known. The asymptotic discussion of local linear smooth backfitting is rather complex because typically an overwhelming notation is required for a detailed discussion. In this paper we interpret the local linear smooth backfitting estimator as a projection of th…
Smooth backfitting has proven to have a number of theoretical and practical advantages in structured regression. Smooth backfitting projects the data down onto the structured space of interest providing a direct link between data and estimator. This paper introduces the ideas of smooth backfitting to survival analysis in a proportional hazard model, where we assume an underlying conditional hazard with multiplicative components. We develop asymptotic theory for the estimator and we use the smooth backfitter in a practical application, where we extend recent advances of in-sample forecasting me…
We investigate hypothesis testing in nonparametric additive models estimated using simplified smooth backfitting (Huang and Yu, Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics, \textbf{28(2)}, 386--400, 2019). Simplified smooth backfitting achieves oracle properties under regularity conditions and provides closed-form expressions of the estimators that are useful for deriving asymptotic properties. We develop a generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) and a loss function (LF) based testing framework for inference. Under the null hypothesis, both the GLR and LF tests have asymptotically rescaled ch…
This paper is about optimal estimation of the additive components of a nonparametric, additive isotone regression model. It is shown that asymptotically up to first order, each additive component can be estimated as well as it could be by a least squares estimator if the other components were known. The algorithm for the calculation of the estimator uses backfitting. Convergence of the algorithm is shown. Finite sample properties are also compared through simulation experiments.
This paper is concerned with asymptotic theory for penalized spline estimator in bivariate additive model. The focus of this paper is put upon the penalized spline estimator obtained by the backfitting algorithm. The convergence of the algorithm as well as the uniqueness of its solution are shown. The asymptotic bias and variance of penalized spline estimator are derived by an efficient use of the asymptotic results for the penalized spline estimator in marginal univariate model. Asymptotic normality of estimator is also developed, by which an approximate confidence interval can be obtained. S…
In this paper, we study an additive model where the response variable is Hilbert-space-valued and predictors are multivariate Euclidean, and both are possibly imperfectly observed. Considering Hilbert-space-valued responses allows to cover Euclidean, compositional, functional and density-valued variables. By treating imperfect responses, we can cover functional variables taking values in a Riemannian manifold and the case where only a random sample from a density-valued response is available. This treatment can also be applied in semiparametric regression. Dealing with imperfect predictors all…
It is widely admitted that structured nonparametric modeling that circumvents the curse of dimensionality is important in nonparametric estimation. In this paper we show that the same holds for semi-parametric estimation. We argue that estimation of the parametric component of a semi-parametric model can be improved essentially when more structure is put into the nonparametric part of the model. We illustrate this for the partially linear model, and investigate efficiency gains when the nonparametric part of the model has an additive structure. We present the semi-parametric Fisher information…
Due to the curse of dimensionality, estimation in a multidimensional nonparametric regression model is in general not feasible. Hence, additional restrictions are introduced, and the additive model takes a prominent place. The restrictions imposed can lead to serious bias. Here, a new estimator is proposed which allows penalizing the nonadditive part of a regression function. This offers a smooth choice between the full and the additive model. As a byproduct, this penalty leads to a regularization in sparse regions. If the additive model does not hold, a small penalty introduces an additional …
We consider an additive regression model consisting of two components $f^0$ and $g^0$, where the first component $f^0$ is in some sense "smoother" than the second $g^0$. Smoothness is here described in terms of a semi-norm on the class of regression functions. We use a penalized least squares estimator $(\hat f, \hat g)$ of $(f^0, g^0)$ and show that the rate of convergence for $\hat f $ is faster than the rate of convergence for $\hat g$. In fact, both rates are generally as fast as in the case where one of the two components is known. The theory is illustrated by a simulation study. Our proo…
In this paper, we derive minimax rates for estimating both parametric and nonparametric components in partially linear additive models with high dimensional sparse vectors and smooth functional components. The minimax lower bound for Euclidean components is the typical sparse estimation rate that is independent of nonparametric smoothness indices. However, the minimax lower bound for each component function exhibits an interplay between the dimensionality and sparsity of the parametric component and the smoothness of the relevant nonparametric component. Indeed, the minimax risk for smooth non…
Application of nonparametric and semiparametric regression techniques to high-dimensional time series data has been hampered due to the lack of effective tools to address the ``curse of dimensionality.'' Under rather weak conditions, we propose spline-backfitted kernel estimators of the component functions for the nonlinear additive time series data that are both computationally expedient so they are usable for analyzing very high-dimensional time series, and theoretically reliable so inference can be made on the component functions with confidence. Simulation experiments have provided strong …
We present a new class of methods for high-dimensional nonparametric regression and classification called sparse additive models (SpAM). Our methods combine ideas from sparse linear modeling and additive nonparametric regression. We derive an algorithm for fitting the models that is practical and effective even when the number of covariates is larger than the sample size. SpAM is closely related to the COSSO model of Lin and Zhang (2006), but decouples smoothing and sparsity, enabling the use of arbitrary nonparametric smoothers. An analysis of the theoretical properties of SpAM is given. We a…
We consider estimation in a sparse additive regression model with the design points on a regular lattice. We establish the minimax convergence rates over Sobolev classes and propose a Fourier-based rate-optimal estimator which is adaptive to the unknown sparsity and smoothness of the response function. The estimator is derived within Bayesian formalism but can be naturally viewed as a penalized maximum likelihood estimator with the complexity penalties on the number of nonzero univariate additive components of the response and on the numbers of the nonzero coefficients of their Fourer expansio…
In this paper we discuss the estimation of a nonparametric component $f_1$ of a nonparametric additive model $Y=f_1(X_1) + ...+ f_q(X_q) + ε$. We allow the number $q$ of additive components to grow to infinity and we make sparsity assumptions about the number of nonzero additive components. We compare this estimation problem with that of estimating $f_1$ in the oracle model $Z= f_1(X_1) + ε$, for which the additive components $f_2,\dots,f_q$ are known. We construct a two-step presmoothing-and-resmoothing estimator of $f_1$ and state finite-sample bounds for the difference between our estimator…
We consider the efficient estimation of the semiparametric additive transformation model with current status data. A wide range of survival models and econometric models can be incorporated into this general transformation framework. We apply the B-spline approach to simultaneously estimate the linear regression vector, the nondecreasing transformation function, and a set of nonparametric regression functions. We show that the parametric estimate is semiparametric efficient in the presence of multiple nonparametric nuisance functions. An explicit consistent B-spline estimate of the asymptotic …
We establish minimax optimal rates of convergence for estimation in a high dimensional additive model assuming that it is approximately sparse. Our results reveal an interesting phase transition behavior universal to this class of high dimensional problems. In the {\it sparse regime} when the components are sufficiently smooth or the dimensionality is sufficiently large, the optimal rates are identical to those for high dimensional linear regression, and therefore there is no additional cost to entertain a nonparametric model. Otherwise, in the so-called {\it smooth regime}, the rates coincide…
High-dimensional sparse modeling with censored survival data is of great practical importance, as exemplified by modern applications in high-throughput genomic data analysis and credit risk analysis. In this article, we propose a class of regularization methods for simultaneous variable selection and estimation in the additive hazards model, by combining the nonconcave penalized likelihood approach and the pseudoscore method. In a high-dimensional setting where the dimensionality can grow fast, polynomially or nonpolynomially, with the sample size, we establish the weak oracle property and ora…