Meta-learners improve causal effect estimation in small samples.
problem Estimating causal effects using machine learning methods.
method Sample-splitting and cross-fitting to reduce overfitting bias.
result Meta-learners' performance depends on sample size and estimation procedure.
This paper analyzes momentum Q-learning with finite-sample guarantees.
problem Improving Q-learning performance with momentum schemes.
method Proposes MomentumQ algorithm integrating Nesterov and Polyak's momentum schemes, analyzes convergence for function approximations.
result Establishes finite-sample convergence rates for MomentumQ, demonstrating better performance than vanilla Q-learning.
The paper analyzes GTD algorithms with finite-sample bounds.
problem Convergence rate analysis of GTD family of algorithms.
method Formulated as stochastic gradient algorithms and analyzed using saddle-point error.
result Obtained finite-sample bounds on GTD performance.
This work analyzes tree-based methods from a ranking perspective, providing insights and new statistics.
problem Understanding the effectiveness of tree-based methods in finite-sample settings, especially symbolic feature selection.
method Local ranking perspective, finite-sample analysis, oracle bounds, posterior contraction results, concordant divergence statistics.
result New insights and statistics for evaluating symbolic feature mappings.
We provide finite-sample analysis of a general framework for using k-nearest neighbor statistics to estimate functionals of a nonparametric continuous probability density, including entropies and divergences. Rather than plugging a consistent density estimate (which requires k→∞ as the sample size $n \to \in…
In the information-based paradigm of inference, model selection is performed by selecting the candidate model with the best estimated predictive performance. The success of this approach depends on the accuracy of the estimate of the predictive complexity. In the large-sample-size limit of a regular model, the predicti…
Deep learning method improves regression accuracy.
problem Nonparametric regression challenges.
method Over-parametrized deep neural networks with logistic activation, gradient descent, special topology, random initialization, and data-dependent learning rate.
result Theoretical bound on L2 error and improved finite sample performance. Paper analyzes PSGLD for adaptive IRL with finite-sample bounds.
problem Estimating cost function of a forward learner using noisy gradients.
method Passive stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (PSGLD) algorithm.
result Explicit bounds on 2-Wasserstein distance between PSGLD sample measure and stationary measure.
Exact inference method for Wasserstein distance with finite-sample coverage.
problem Asymptotic approximation methods for Wasserstein distance lack finite-sample validity.
method Selective Inference inspired approach for exact inference.
result Valid confidence interval for Wasserstein distance with finite-sample coverage.
MF-TRPO optimizes MFGs with finite sample guarantees.
problem Computing approximate Nash equilibria in MFGs.
method Extends TRPO to MFGs, providing convergence guarantees.
result Theoretical guarantees on MF-TRPO's convergence.
The article proposes a method to make valid insurance claim predictions without relying on specific models.
problem Prediction of insurance claims using statistical models can be unreliable due to model misspecification, selection effects, and lack of finite-sample validity.
method The article employs conformal prediction, a machine learning strategy that is model-free and tuning-parameter-free, ensuring finite-sample validity.
result The proposed method guarantees valid predictions at a pre-assigned coverage probability level and performs well in insurance applications, including meeting Solvency II requirements.
Proposes a method to create shorter, more accurate prediction intervals.
problem Challenges in achieving both conditional validity and interval efficiency in complex settings.
method Uses a conformal-style calibration method for neural network responses, adjusting to empirical PIT distribution.
result Demonstrates better conditional calibration and shorter intervals than existing methods.
Develops robust MDPs for unknown disturbances with performance guarantees.
problem Unknown disturbance distribution in MDPs.
method Empirical distribution, sublevel set of distance function, weak convergence, concentration inequality.
result Robust optimal value function converges to true optimal value function with increasing sample sizes.
Paper provides finite-sample guarantees for Wasserstein DRO without dimensionality curse.
problem Tackles empirical success of Wasserstein DRO in operations and ML with performance guarantees.
method Develops non-asymptotic framework for analyzing out-of-sample performance and generalization bound.
result First finite-sample guarantee for generic Wasserstein DRO problems without curse of dimensionality.
New model-free DR-RL algorithm with finite sample complexity.
problem Limited model-free DR-RL methods with convergence guarantees or sample complexities.
method Integrates Multi-level Monte Carlo (MLMC) technique with threshold mechanism.
result First model-free DR-RL approach with finite sample complexity for total variation and Chi-square divergence.
Paper introduces a new reinforcement learning method with improved performance.
problem Designing and analyzing efficient reinforcement learning algorithms.
method Proximal gradient temporal difference learning (GTD) with accelerated algorithm GTD2-MP.
result GTD algorithms have linear complexity and improved convergence rate.
Study proposes efficient estimators for matrix-valued linear regression under sparsity assumptions.
problem Estimation of parameters in matrix-valued linear regression models.
method Explicit optimization-free estimators for matrix-valued linear regression models with sparsity assumptions.
result Established non-asymptotic convergence rates for the proposed estimators.
New algorithm improves causal discovery in biomedical data.
problem Stability and accuracy issues in causal discovery algorithms.
method Exploits temporal structure and tiered background knowledge.
result Increases accuracy in finite samples for causal structure estimation.
New technique reduces imitation learning performance gap in finite samples.
problem Imitation learning performance gap in finite samples.
method Replay estimation to reduce empirical variance in finite samples.
result Achieves optimal performance gap of $\widetilde{O} \left( \min({H^{3/2}} / {N}, {H} / {\sqrt{N}}
ight)$.
Super learner with Huber loss improves cost prediction and causal effect estimation in healthcare expenditure data.
problem Challenges in modeling healthcare expenditure distributions with standard super learning methods.
method Proposes a super learner using Huber loss, a robust loss function that down-weights outliers.
result Demonstrates appreciable finite-sample gains in cost prediction and causal effect estimation.
Paper presents robust boosting methods for label noise.
problem Boosting methods degrade in noisy environments.
method Robust Minimax Boosting (RMBoost) with theoretical guarantees.
result RMBoost provides strong classification accuracy and robustness.
Unified method for MMD variance estimation improves accuracy and computational efficiency.
problem Variance estimation for MMD in nonparametric testing.
method Unified finite-sample characterization of MMD variance through U-statistic and Hoeffding decomposition; exact acceleration method for univariate case.
result Unified estimators improve accuracy and computational efficiency for MMD variance.
Kernelized convex clustering handles non-linear and non-convex data.
problem Lack of effective clustering methods for non-linear and non-convex data.
method Kernelized convex clustering in RKHS.
result Superior performance compared to state-of-the-art techniques.
Split conformal prediction provides finite-sample guarantees for black-box models without distributional assumptions.
problem Weak performance guarantees for modern predictive models under minimal assumptions.
method Develops finite-sample guarantees for split conformal prediction, a method that uses nested prediction sets and order statistics.
result The coverage of prediction sets based on order statistics stochastically dominates the Beta distribution.
FaiREE provides fair classification with guarantees for small datasets.
problem Fairness in classification often requires large sample sizes and distributional assumptions.
method FaiREE offers finite-sample and distribution-free fairness guarantees.
result FaiREE achieves optimal accuracy and satisfies various fairness notions.
This study analyzes LTS in sparse models with finite sample error bounds.
problem Robust regression in high-dimensional sparse models with limited data.
method Non-asymptotic analysis of LTS error bounds.
result Established finite sample error bounds for LTS in sparse models.
We formalize AURC and develop estimators for SC systems.
problem Evaluation of SC systems' performance.
method Formal statistical formulation, Monte Carlo methods, plug-in estimators.
result Plug-in estimators are consistent, with low bias and bounded MSE.
Study shows DQN's performance degrades with temporal dependence in data.
problem Temporal dependence in replayed data affects DQN's performance.
method Modelled τ-mixing data, derived risk bounds, and empirical validation. result Temporal dependence leads to a degradation in DQN's performance rate.
Paper analyzes Greedy-GQ for reinforcement learning with Markovian noise.
problem Analyzing Greedy-GQ for reinforcement learning with Markovian noise.
method Develops finite-sample analysis for Greedy-GQ with linear function approximation under Markovian noise.
result Provides theoretical justification for choosing stepsizes for faster convergence.
Projected random forests improve circular data prediction with adaptive arc length and finite-sample coverage.
problem Regression with circular responses.
method Adapting linear-response models to circular data using projection and random forest out-of-bag mechanism.
result Projected random forest out-of-bag conformal prediction sets are more efficient and shorter than alternative methods.
We test for departures from normal and independent and identically distributed (NIID) returns, when returns under the alternative hypothesis are self-affine. Self-affine returns are either fractionally integrated and long-range dependent, or drawn randomly from an L-stable distribution with infinite higher-order moment…
In reinforcement learning (RL) , one of the key components is policy evaluation, which aims to estimate the value function (i.e., expected long-term accumulated reward) of a policy. With a good policy evaluation method, the RL algorithms will estimate the value function more accurately and find a better policy. When th…
New findings show modern neural networks have finite sample complexity in o-minimal structures.
problem Understanding the learnability of modern neural networks in a broad context.
method Analyzing feedforward neural networks definable in o-minimal structures.
result Modern neural networks, including MLPs, CNNs, GNNs, and transformers, have finite sample complexity in the agnostic PAC setting.
Estimates barycenter in geodesic spaces with finite sample bounds.
problem Estimating the barycenter of a distribution in geodesic spaces.
method Finite sample error bounds, Hoeffding- and Bernstein-type concentration inequalities, efficient algorithms.
result Statistical guarantees for efficient barycenter computation.
Confidence intervals improve evaluation of binary prediction rules in data mining.
problem Uncertainty in performance measures estimation from finite datasets.
method Asymptotic normal approximations for confidence intervals, with a blurring correction.
result Improved finite sample coverage probabilities and general performance measures inference.
This work studies the statistical performance of Sinkhorn iterations in estimating Schrödinger bridges.
problem Estimating Schrödinger bridges with limited samples.
method Intermediate Sinkhorn iterations applied to the time-dependent drifts of SDEs.
result Established a statistical bound on the squared total variation error of Sinkhorn bridge iterations.
Neural causal discovery methods fail to accurately uncover causal structures due to the faithfulness property.
problem Accuracy in neural causal discovery is limited, especially when distinguishing between existing and non-existing causal relationships.
method Systematic evaluation of neural causal discovery methods, focusing on their performance in finite sample regimes and their ability to recover ground-truth graphs.
result Neural networks lack the precision to reliably recover ground-truth causal graphs, even for small graphs and large sample sizes.
The paper improves off-policy evaluation in contextual bandits using conformal prediction.
problem Quantifying the performance of a target policy using data from a different behavior policy.
method Proposes a novel algorithm based on a PAC-valid conformal prediction framework to construct probably approximately correct prediction intervals.
result Establishes PAC-type bounds on coverage, improving theoretical guarantees.
New methods for estimating causal effects with limited overlap, using Stable Probability Weighting.
problem Estimating causal effects with limited overlap in multivalued treatments.
method Stable Probability Weighting (SPW) and Finite-Sample Stable Probability Weighting (FPW) methods.
result SPW and FPW provide practical solutions for estimating and inferring causal effects with limited overlap.
Optimal sparse recovery with decision stumps achieves strong feature selection guarantees.
problem Sparse recovery of active features from high-dimensional data.
method Analysis of single-depth decision trees (decision stumps) for feature selection in linear regression.
result Tight sample performance guarantees for O(slogp), improving upon previous bounds. Bitcoin volatility analysis shows decreasing HE with longer sampling periods.
problem Understanding volatility patterns in Bitcoin using different sample sizes.
method Examined Bitcoin data to analyze Hurst exponent (HE) and multifractality.
result HE decreases as sampling period increases, indicating rough volatility.
Despite the increasing interest in multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) in multiple communities, understanding its theoretical foundation has long been recognized as a challenging problem. In this work, we address this problem by providing a finite-sample analysis for decentralized batch MARL with networked agents…
New framework calibrates decision robustness using inverse conformal risk control.
problem Inadequate robustness levels in decision-making due to ad hoc choices.
method Constructs valid estimators to trace miscoverage-regret Pareto frontier.
result Provides distribution-free, finite-sample guarantees on robustness levels.
The paper tackles batch policy learning in Markov Decision Processes, focusing on average reward maximization.
problem Maximizing long-term average reward in Markov Decision Processes with batch learning.
method Doubly robust estimator for average reward, optimization algorithm for optimal policy, finite-sample regret guarantee.
result The proposed method achieves semiparametric efficiency and provides a finite-sample regret guarantee.
The paper shows how to learn causal representations with few environments and finite samples.
problem Learning causal representations from limited data and environments.
method Explicit, finite-sample guarantees with a logarithmic number of interventions.
result Consistent recovery of latent causal graph, mixing matrix, and unknown intervention targets.
Unified framework for finite-sample RL algorithms using Lyapunov theory.
problem Finite-sample convergence guarantees of asynchronous RL algorithms.
method Reformulate RL algorithms as Markovian SA, develop Lyapunov analysis.
result Mean-square error bounds and convergence for various RL algorithms.
Proposes SVI for covariate-shift generalization with sparse variable independence.
problem Covariate-shift generalization with limited data and unstable variables.
method Introduces sparsity constraint and combines reweighting and selection in an iterative way.
result Improves covariate-shift generalization performance on synthetic and real-world datasets.
Study non-parametric frequency-domain system identification from finite samples.
problem Frequency-domain system identification from limited data.
method Empirical Transfer Function Estimate (ETFE) under sub-Gaussian colored noise and stability assumptions.
result ETFE estimates are concentrated around true values with a finite-sample rate of Ntot−1/3 for all frequencies in the H∞ norm.