{\bf Abstract} Consider a Non-Parametric Empirical Bayes (NPEB) setup. We observe $Y_i, \sim f(y|\theta_i)$, $\theta_i \in \Theta$ independent, where $\theta_i \sim G$ are independent $i=1,...,n$. The mixing distribution $G$ is unknown $G \in \{G\}$ with no parametric assumptions about the class $\{G \}$. The common NPEB task is to estimate $\theta_i, \; i=1,...,n$. Conditions that imply 'optimality' of such NPEB estimators typically require identifiability of $G$ based on $Y_1,...,Y_n$. We consider the task of estimating $E_G \theta$. We show that `often' consistent estimation of $E_G \theta$ is implied without identifiability. We motivate the later task, especially in setups with non-response and missing data. We demonstrate consistency in simulations.
翻译:摘要 考虑一个非参数经验贝叶斯(NPEB)框架。设观测数据 $Y_i \sim f(y|\theta_i)$,$\theta_i \in \Theta$ 独立同分布,其中 $\theta_i \sim G$ 独立,$i=1,...,n$。混合分布 $G$ 未知,$G \in \{G\}$,且对分布类 $\{G\}$ 不作任何参数假设。常见的 NPEB 任务是估计参数 $\theta_i, \; i=1,...,n$。这类 NPEB 估计量的“最优性”条件往往要求基于 $Y_1,...,Y_n$ 可识别混合分布 $G$。本文考虑估计 $E_G \theta$ 的问题,证明在无需可识别性的条件下,“通常”可实现 $E_G \theta$ 的一致估计。我们重点阐述了该估计任务在非响应与缺失数据场景中的实际动机,并通过模拟实验验证了估计量的一致性。