arXiv research

We propose a general method for constructing hypothesis tests and confidence sets that have finite sample guarantees without regularity conditions. We refer to such procedures as "universal." The method is very simple and is based on a modified version of the usual likelihood ratio statistic, that we call "the split li…

Neural networks approximate likelihood ratios for complex models.

A novel kernel-based test detects equality versus singularity of two probability measures.

In many fields of science, generalized likelihood ratio tests are established tools for statistical inference. At the same time, it has become increasingly common that a simulator (or generative model) is used to describe complex processes that tie parameters $θ$ of an underlying theory and measurement apparatus to hig…

Sequential hypothesis testing is a desirable decision making strategy in any time sensitive scenario. Compared with fixed sample-size testing, sequential testing is capable of achieving identical probability of error requirements using less samples in average. For a binary detection problem, it is well known that for k…

FF algorithm uses goodness as a likelihood-ratio test for scalar normalization.

Optimal selective classification using likelihood ratios improves model reliability.

FF algorithm uses goodness as a measure of input quality, derived from likelihood-ratio tests.

Financial econometrics has become an increasingly popular research field. In this paper we review a few parametric and nonparametric models and methods used in this area. After introducing several widely used continuous-time and discrete-time models, we study in detail dependence structures of discrete samples, includi…

This article studies local and global inference for smoothing spline estimation in a unified asymptotic framework. We first introduce a new technical tool called functional Bahadur representation, which significantly generalizes the traditional Bahadur representation in parametric models, that is, Bahadur [Ann. Inst. S…

Efficient tests achieve best error rates in high-dimensional hypothesis testing.

Study detects signals in spiked Wigner models using log likelihood ratio.

This paper develops embeddings that preserve likelihood-based statistical inference.

A density ratio is defined by the ratio of two probability densities. We study the inference problem of density ratios and apply a semi-parametric density-ratio estimator to the two-sample homogeneity test. In the proposed test procedure, the f-divergence between two probability densities is estimated using a density-r…

A new algorithm detects changes in data with constant cost per iteration.

Extends likelihood ratio exponential families to analyze various optimization methods.

Develops GLRT for defending against adversarial attacks in hypothesis testing.

A test for neural networks identifies genetic associations.

ACORE improves hypothesis testing and confidence sets in likelihood-free inference.

Markov regime switching models have been used in numerous empirical studies in economics and finance. However, the asymptotic distribution of the likelihood ratio test statistic for testing the number of regimes in Markov regime switching models has been an unresolved problem. This paper derives the asymptotic distribu…

The paper analyzes a private likelihood-ratio test for frequency tables under differential privacy constraints.

Near-optimal private tests for simple and MLR hypotheses developed under Gaussian differential privacy.

Study benchmarks TSC algorithms in distinguishing diffusions using the likelihood ratio test.

Various problems in Engineering and Statistics require the computation of the likelihood ratio function of two probability densities. In classical approaches the two densities are assumed known or to belong to some known parametric family. In a data-driven version we replace this requirement with the availability of da…

SPRT-TANDEM improves sequential classification accuracy with fewer samples.

We estimate Radon-Nikodym derivatives using regularization in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces.

These notes survey and explore an emerging method, which we call the low-degree method, for predicting and understanding statistical-versus-computational tradeoffs in high-dimensional inference problems. In short, the method posits that a certain quantity -- the second moment of the low-degree likelihood ratio -- gives…

Proposes incorporating noise sources in machine learning evaluation for more reliable conclusions.

Paper detects changes in graph-based data streams using likelihood-ratios.

PD curve calibration refers to the transformation of a set of rating grade level probabilities of default (PDs) to another average PD level that is determined by a change of the underlying portfolio-wide PD. This paper presents a framework that allows to explore a variety of calibration approaches and the conditions un…

Direct neural ratio estimator for likelihood-free inference.

The ratio of two probability densities can be used for solving various machine learning tasks such as covariate shift adaptation (importance sampling), outlier detection (likelihood-ratio test), and feature selection (mutual information). Recently, several methods of directly estimating the density ratio have been deve…

We consider the weak detection problem in a rank-one spiked Wigner data matrix where the signal-to-noise ratio is small so that reliable detection is impossible. We propose a hypothesis test on the presence of the signal by utilizing the linear spectral statistics of the data matrix. The test is data-driven and does no…

Researchers have constantly asked whether stock returns can be predicted by some macroeconomic data. However, it is known that macroeconomic data may exhibit nonstationarity and/or heavy tails, which complicates existing testing procedures for predictability. In this paper we propose novel empirical likelihood methods …

The paper tackles hypothesis testing for likelihood-free inference with a new kernel-based approach.

Logistic regression is used thousands of times a day to fit data, predict future outcomes, and assess the statistical significance of explanatory variables. When used for the purpose of statistical inference, logistic models produce p-values for the regression coefficients by using an approximation to the distribution …

We propose a nonparametric sequential test that aims to address two practical problems pertinent to online randomized experiments: (i) how to do a hypothesis test for complex metrics; (ii) how to prevent type $1$ error inflation under continuous monitoring. The proposed test does not require knowledge of the underlying…

New algorithm for efficiently identifying the best arm in stochastic bandits.

The paper studies inference in hypergraph β-models with multiple layers.

The paper proposes a method to construct confidence sets using likelihood ratios for sequential decision-making.

We study the profitability of optimal mean reversion trading strategies in the US equity market. Different from regular pair trading practice, we apply maximum likelihood method to construct the optimal static pairs trading portfolio that best fits the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, and rigorously estimate the parameters.…

A new likelihood ratio metric for GANs training stability.

We propose a likelihood ratio based inferential framework for high dimensional semiparametric generalized linear models. This framework addresses a variety of challenging problems in high dimensional data analysis, including incomplete data, selection bias, and heterogeneous multitask learning. Our work has three main …

A method uses neural networks to approximate sampling distributions of test statistics.

A fundamental problem in network data analysis is to test Erdös-Rényi model $\mathcal{G}\left(n,\frac{a+b}{2n}\right)$ versus a bisection stochastic block model $\mathcal{G}\left(n,\frac{a}{n},\frac{b}{n}\right)$, where $a,b>0$ are constants that represent the expected degrees of the graphs and $n$ denotes the number o…

We study the statistical properties of an estimator derived by applying a gradient ascent method with multiple initializations to a multi-modal likelihood function. We derive the population quantity that is the target of this estimator and study the properties of confidence intervals (CIs) constructed from asymptotic n…

Novel neural likelihood ratio estimation for negative data in particle physics.

New method detects changes in high-dimensional Gaussian data streams.