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arXiv research

A locally-built, LLM-digested index of recent arXiv papers in quant finance, geometry/topology, and statistical ML — keyword search served straight from SQLite on this machine.

168,695 papers · 148 categories

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152303455606 · Jun 202019922001200920172026
48 results for statistical decision theory

New complexity measure for interactive learning reduces regret to near-optimal levels.

problem Challenges in sample-efficient, adaptive learning algorithms for interactive decision making.
method Introduces the Decision-Estimation Coefficient and the Estimation-to-Decisions (E2D) principle.
result Unified algorithm design principle E2D achieves optimal sample-efficient learning.

The paper tackles robust policy learning in MDPs using statistical methods.

problem Offline data-driven sequential decision making in MDPs.
method Evaluates policies using average rewards centered at policy-induced stationary distributions. Developed a statistically efficient method for estimating robust optimal policies.
result Established a rate-optimal regret bound up to a logarithmic factor.

The article presents a translation of some widespread financial terminology into the language of decision theory. For instance, financial leverage can be regarded as an object of choice or a decision. We show how the optics of decision theory allows perceiving the recently introduced metrics of see-through-leverage, wh…

2010-09-15abs ↗pdf ↗

Safe autonomous decisions made with machine learning predictions using Conformal Decision Theory.

problem Safe decisions from imperfect machine learning predictions.
method Conformal Decision Theory framework for producing safe decisions.
result Safe decisions with provable statistical guarantees of low risk.

The main goal of statistical learning theory is to provide a fundamental framework for the problem of decision making and model construction based on sets of data. Here, we present a brief introduction to the fundamentals of statistical learning theory, in particular the difference between empirical and structural risk…

2019-02-12abs ↗pdf ↗

The study provides theoretical guarantees for the statistical performance of optimal decision trees.

problem Theoretical limits on the statistical performance of globally optimal decision trees.
method Sharp oracle inequalities and uniform concentration framework based on Rademacher complexity.
result Derivation of minimax optimal rates for piecewise sparse heterogeneous anisotropic Besov space.

Develops a dynamic mean field theory for reinforcement learning.

problem Finite state and action Bayesian reinforcement learning in large state spaces.
method Analogies with statistical physics, interpreting probabilities as couplings and values as spins, solving mean field equations.
result State-action values are statistically independent in the asymptotic state space limit, with exact or approximate equations for computation.

Tutorials on preference learning with Gaussian Processes.

problem Understanding individual preferences and choices for efficient and personalized applications.
method Presentation of a comprehensive framework for preference learning with Gaussian Processes, incorporating rationality principles.
result Construction of preference learning models that encompass various utility models and scenarios.

The paper critiques existing uncertainty concepts and proposes a new decision-theoretic approach.

problem Incoherence in existing discussions of aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty.
method Decision-theoretic perspective that relates uncertainty, predictive performance, and statistical dispersion.
result Popular information-theoretic quantities can be poor estimators but still useful for guiding data acquisition.

The paper provides a statistical decision-theoretical derivation of the Two-Stage approach for parameter estimation.

problem Theoretical justification for the Two-Stage approach in situations where likelihood is difficult to evaluate.
method Statistical decision-theoretical derivation leading to Bayesian and Minimax estimators.
result The Two-Stage approach is justified theoretically and applied to independent and identically distributed samples.

This paper solves the open problem of computing Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method.

problem Computing the Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees is infeasible due to an infeasible summation over all division patterns of a feature space.
method Solved the open problem using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method with adaptively tuned step size.
result Computed the Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method.

New concept of partial law invariance connects decision theory and financial risk management.

problem Connecting decision theory and financial risk management under uncertainty.
method Characterizing partially law-invariant coherent risk measures via a novel representation formula.
result Strong partial law invariance bridges the gap between existing risk measure representations.

DRO optimizes decisions under uncertain distributions, considering worst-case scenarios.

problem Optimizing decisions when the distribution of uncertainties is itself uncertain.
method Defines ambiguity sets and seeks decisions optimal under the worst-case distribution.
result DRO models can be connected to regularization techniques and machine learning.

The study reveals decision trees' limitations in fitting data from additive models, proving a generalization lower bound.

problem Understanding the generalization performance of decision trees on additive models.
method Analyzing decision tree algorithms with sparse additive models, proving generalization lower bounds.
result Generalization lower bounds for decision trees on sparse additive models are much worse than minimax rates.

New online method for statistical inference with matrix context in decision-making.

problem Statistical inference in decision-making with matrix context.
method Proposes a fully online procedure to conduct statistical inference with adaptive data collection, handling low-rank structure.
result Establishes asymptotic normality of debiased estimators and proves validity of confidence intervals.

Subjective expected utility theory assumes that decision-makers possess unlimited computational resources to reason about their choices; however, virtually all decisions in everyday life are made under resource constraints - i.e. decision-makers are bounded in their rationality. Here we experimentally tested the predic…

2016-10-06abs ↗pdf ↗

New framework converts offline to online estimation using black-box offline estimators.

problem Convert offline estimation algorithms to online estimation algorithms.
method Oracle-Efficient Online Estimation (OEOE) framework.
result Achieves near-optimal online estimation error via black-box offline estimators.

The paper tackles optimal policy learning with asymmetric counterfactual utilities in healthcare decisions.

problem Learning optimal policies from observed data with asymmetric counterfactual utilities.
method The approach involves identifying and minimizing the maximum expected utility loss using statistical decision theory and solving intermediate classification problems.
result One can learn minimax loss decision rules from observed data.

Paper connects RL and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics for entropy-regularized RL.

problem Obtaining analytical solutions for entropy-regularized RL.
method Mapping RL to non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, applying large deviation theory.
result Derives exact analytical results for optimal policy and dynamics in MDPs.

Recent decades have seen an interest in prediction problems for which Bayesian methodology has been used ubiquitously. Sampling from or approximating the posterior predictive distribution in a Bayesian model allows one to make inferential statements about potentially observable random quantities given observed data. Th…

2015-07-22abs ↗pdf ↗

This paper studies uncertainty quantification in deep spatiotemporal forecasting.

problem Uncertainty quantification in deep spatiotemporal forecasting models.
method Analysis of UQ methods from Bayesian and frequentist perspectives, including statistical decision theory.
result Different UQ methods have different strengths and weaknesses, with Bayesian methods being more robust in mean prediction and frequentist methods providing more extensive coverage.

Study on multi-agent decision making complexity, showing sample efficiency gaps.

problem Understanding sample efficiency in multi-agent decision making.
method General framework for interactive decision making, focusing on equilibrium computation.
result No 'reasonable' complexity measure can close gaps between single and multiple agents.

Unified framework for DRO and DTA using Bayesian nonparametrics.

problem Combining DRO and DTA under ambiguity.
method Unified framework using DP and HDPs, with outlier robustness.
result Favorable performance in prediction accuracy and stability.

This work explores the trade-offs between stability and accuracy in statistical estimation.

problem Understanding the statistical cost of algorithmic stability.
method Statistical decision-theoretic perspective, focusing on worst-case and average-case stability.
result Optimal stable estimators for mean estimation and regression settings are developed, revealing trade-offs between stability and accuracy.

This article introduces a framework to estimate the value of evidence-based decision making.

problem Lack of empirical tools to assess the value of evidence-based decision making and optimize statistical precision.
method Empirical framework using parametric and nonparametric empirical Bayes methods.
result The value of statistical evidence depends on how organizations translate it into policy decisions.

Blackwell's theorems influence modern AI through information compression and decision making.

problem Information compression and decision making under uncertainty.
method Theorems developed in the 1940s and 1950s, applied to modern AI.
result Blackwell theorems remain relevant and influence modern AI subfields.

IDT learns human preferences from uncertain decisions, even when humans are suboptimal.

problem Learning human preferences from uncertain and suboptimal decisions.
method Inverse decision theory (IDT) framework, statistical analysis of IDT, characterizing sample complexity.
result Learning preferences is easier when decisions are more uncertain, even if humans are suboptimal.

Gaussian graphical model is a graphical representation of the dependence structure for a Gaussian random vector. It is recognized as a powerful tool in different applied fields such as bioinformatics, error-control codes, speech language, information retrieval and others. Gaussian graphical model selection is a statist…

2017-01-09abs ↗pdf ↗

Paper proposes a new method to compare classifiers across multiple datasets.

problem Comparing classifiers over multiple datasets with multiple criteria.
method Adopting decision theory, the paper introduces generalized stochastic dominance for ranking classifiers.
result Generalized stochastic dominance can be used to rank classifiers and statistically tested.

Paper proposes a new dynamic pricing method with always-valid online statistical learning.

problem Designing dynamic pricing policies that adapt to online uncertainty and maintain validity.
method Regularized online statistical learning with theoretical guarantees and three major advantages.
result Proposed OORMLP pricing policy secures logarithmic regret in decision horizon.

Study on error probabilities of machine learning classification techniques using large deviations theory.

problem Performance analysis of machine learning binary classification techniques.
method Large deviations theory applied to Data-Driven Decision Function (D3F) for error probability analysis.
result Classification error probabilities vanish exponentially, with an asymptotic formula providing precise error rate estimates.

New framework assesses extreme errors in machine learning models.

problem Current validation methods fail to quantify extreme errors in high-stakes domains.
method Uses Extreme Value Theory (EVT) to estimate worst-case failures.
result Establishes EVT as a fundamental tool for assessing model reliability.

New method to quantify feature contributions to disparity without access to decision-making model.

problem Quantifying feature contributions to disparity when decision-making model is not accessible.
method Use information theory to measure redundant statistical dependency between protected attribute and feature.
result Quantify feature contributions to disparity using information theory.

Paper develops approximation and statistical theory for signature-based path regression.

problem Understanding how fast signatures approximate continuous path functionals.
method Develops \(L^2\) approximation rate for smooth functionals of Itô diffusions and establishes consistency of statistical learning procedures.
result Signature-based methods improve prediction over handcrafted features in various real-data applications.

While Multiple Instance (MI) data are point patterns -- sets or multi-sets of unordered points -- appropriate statistical point pattern models have not been used in MI learning. This article proposes a framework for model-based MI learning using point process theory. Likelihood functions for point pattern data derived …

2017-03-07abs ↗pdf ↗

The paper tackles uncertainty in multi-objective decision-making.

problem Learning Pareto-efficient decisions with statistical confidence in uncertain outcomes.
method Adapting Pareto-efficient decisions to uncertainty, using conformal prediction.
result Statistical guarantees for efficient decisions in uncertain contexts.

Bayesian neural networks are shown to be minimax and admissible under certain conditions.

problem Optimality of Bayesian neural networks in deep learning models.
method Analysis of decision rules induced by BNNs in the normal location model under quadratic loss.
result A hyperprior on the effective output variance yields a minimax and admissible decision rule.

This paper generalizes BO uncertainty measures using decision-theoretic entropies.

problem Efficiently inferring optima of expensive black-box functions.
method Introduces a generalized entropy measure from statistical decision theory to optimize Bayesian optimization.
result Demonstrates strong empirical performance across various sequential decision-making tasks.

Study minimax-optimal rates for offline decision-making with function approximation.

problem Statistical complexity of offline decision-making with function approximation.
method Near minimax-optimal rates for stochastic contextual bandits and Markov decision processes, using pseudo-dimension and behavior policy.
result Established performance limits and new characterization of behavior policy.

An online decision-making algorithm using stochastic gradient descent for big data.

problem Efficiently updating decision rules in online decision making with big data.
method Stochastic gradient descent for online updates, asymptotic normality of estimators.
result Asymptotic normality of parameter and value estimators, enabling statistical inference.

New method assesses multivariate stochastic dominance using Optimal Transport.

problem Benchmarking models across multiple metrics considering dependencies.
method Characterization of multivariate first stochastic dominance via couplings, entropic regularization, and Optimal Transport.
result Established CLT and consistency for the empirical statistic, enabling hypothesis testing.