1.6 The Exponential Family
Definition 1.6.1. Suppose \(X = (X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_p)\) has a (joint) probability (density) function of the form \[f_{\theta }(x) = C(\theta )\, \exp \left \{\sum ^k_{j = 1} q_j(\theta )\, T_j(x)\right \}\, h(x)\hspace {0.5cm}\cdots \cdots \hspace {0.3cm} (1.1)\] for functions \(q_j(\theta ), \, T_j(x), \, h(x), \, C(\theta )\). Then we say that \(f_{\theta }(x)\) is a member of the exponential family of densities. We call \((T_1(X), \, \cdots \, , \, T_k(X))\) the natural sufficient statistic.
Note that the natural sufficient statistic is not unique. e.g multiplication of \(T_j\) by a constant and division of \(q_j\) by the same constant results in the same function \(f_{\theta }(x)\).
Example 1.6.2. Show that \(T(X) = (T_1(X), \, \cdots \, , \, T_k(X))\) is a sufficient statistic for the model \(\{f_{\theta }(x):\, \theta \in \Omega \}\) where \(f_{\theta }(x)\) has the form \((1.1)\).
Solution. \[f_{\theta }(x) = \underbrace {C(\theta )\, \exp \left \{\sum ^k_{j = 1} q_j(\theta )\, T_j(x)\right \}}_{g\left (T(X), \theta \right )}\, \underbrace {h(x)}_{h(x)}\] where \(T(X) = (T_1(X), \, \cdots \, , \, T_k(X))\). Therefore by the Factorization Theorem \(T(X)\) is a sufficient statistic. □
Example 1.6.3. Show that the \(BIN(n,\theta )\) distribution has an exponential family distribution and find the natural sufficient statistic.
Solution. \(X\, \thicksim \, BIN(n,\theta )\) \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x) & = \binom {n}{x}\, \theta ^x\, (1 - \theta )^{n-x}\hspace {0.3cm} , \hspace {0.6cm} x = 0, \, 1, \, \cdots \, , \, n\\ & = (1 - \theta )^n\, \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right )^x\, \binom {n}{x}\\ & = (1 - \theta )^n\, \exp \left \{\log \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right )^x\right \}\, \binom {n}{x}\\ & = (1 - \theta )^n\, \exp \left \{x\, \log \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right )\right \}\, \binom {n}{x}\\ & = \underbrace {(1 - \theta )^n}_{C(\theta )}\, \exp \Bigg \{\underbrace {\left [\log \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right )\right ]}_{q(\theta }\, \underbrace {x}_{Tx)}\Bigg \} \, \underbrace {\binom {n}{x}}_{h(x)}. \end {align*}
\(\therefore f_{\theta }(x)\) is a member of the exponential family and the natural sufficient statistic is \(T(X) = X\). □
Note. The exponential family is closed under repeated independent sampling.
Theorem 1.6.4. Let \(X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from a distribution with probability (density)
function given by \((1.1)\). Then \((X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) also has an exponential form with joint probability (density)
function
\[f_{\theta }(x_1, \, \cdots \, , \, x_n) = \left (C(\theta )\right )^n\, \exp \left \{\sum ^k_{j = 1} q_j(\theta )\, \sum ^n_{i = 1} T_j(x_i)\right \}\, \prod ^n_{i = 1}h(x_i)\]
i.e \(C\) is replaced by \(C^n\), \(T_j(x)\) by \(\sum ^n_{i = 1} T_j(x_i)\) and \(h(x)\) by \(\prod ^n_{i = 1} (x_i)\).
The natural sufficient statistic is
\[\left (\sum ^n_{i = 1} T_1(X_i), \, \cdots \cdots \, ,\, \sum ^n_{i = 1} T_k(X_i)\right ).\]
Example 1.6.5. Let \((X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) be a random sample from the \(POI(\theta )\) distribution. Show that \((X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) is a member of the exponential family.
Solution. \(X\, \thicksim \, POI(\theta )\) \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x) & = \frac {e^{-\theta }\, \theta ^x}{x!}\hspace {0.6cm}, \hspace {0.5cm} x = 0, \, 1, \, \cdots \hspace {0.3cm} \theta > 0 \\ & = e^{-\theta }\, \exp \left (\log \theta ^x\right )\, \frac {1}{x!}\\ & = \underbrace {e^{-\theta }}_{C(\theta )}\, \exp \Bigg \{\underbrace {\left (\log \theta \right )}_{q(\theta )}\, \cdot \, \underbrace {x}_{T(x)}\Bigg \}\, \underbrace {\frac {1}{x!}}_{h(x)} \end {align*}
\(\therefore \, f_{\theta }(x)\) is a member of the exponential family and the natural sufficient statistic is \(T(X) = X\).
\(\therefore \,\) by Theorem 1.6.4 \((X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) has an exponential family (EF) distribution and the natural sufficient statistic
is \(T(X) = \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i\).
OR \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x_1, \, \cdots \, , \, x_n) & = \prod ^n_{i = 1} \frac {e^{-\theta }\, \theta ^{x_i}}{x_i!} = e^{-n\theta }\, \theta ^{\sum ^n_{i = 1} x_i}\, \prod ^n_{i = 1} \frac {1}{x_i!}\\ & = \underbrace {e^{-n\theta }}_{C(\theta )}\, \exp \Bigg \{\underbrace {\left (\log \theta \right )}_{q(\theta )}\, \underbrace {\sum ^n_{i = 1} x_i}_{T(X)}\Bigg \}\, \underbrace {\prod ^n_{i = 1}\frac {1}{x_i!}}_{h(x)}. \end {align*} □
1.6.1 The Canonical Form
Definition 1.6.6. The canonical form of the exponential family
\[f_{\eta }(x) = C(\eta )\, \exp \Bigg \{\sum ^k_{j = 1} \eta _j\, T_j(x)\Bigg \}\, h(x)\]
is obtained from equation (1.1) by replacing \(q_j(\theta )\) by a new parameter \(\eta _j\).
The natural parameter space in this form is the set of all values of \(\eta \) for which \(f_\eta (x)\) is integrable
i.e
\[\left \{\eta :\, \int ^{\infty }_{-\infty } f_{\eta }(x)\, dx\, < \infty \right \}\]
If \(X\) is discrete the integral is replaced by a sum over all \(x\) such that \(f_{\eta }(x) > 0\).
Note. If the statistic satisfies a linear constraint, for example \(\sum ^n_{j = 1} T_j(x)= 0,\) then the number of terms can be reduced, otherwise the parameters \(\eta _j\) are not statistically meaningful.
1.6.2 Regular Exponential Families
Definition 1.6.7. \(X\) is said to have a regular exponential family distribution if its canonical form is of full rank in the sense that neither the \(T_j\) nor the \(\eta _j\) satisfy any linear constraints and the natural parameter space contains a \(k-\)dimensional rectangle.
Note. By Theorem 1.6.4, if \(X_i\) has a regular exponential family distribution then \(X = (X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) also has a regular exponential family (REF) distribution.
Example 1.6.8. Show that \(X\, \thicksim \, BIN(n,\theta )\) has a regular exponential family distribution.
Solution. From example 1.6.3 \[f_{\theta }(x) = (1 - \theta )^n\, \exp \left \{\left [\log \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right )\right ]\, x\right \}\, \binom {n}{x}.\] Let \(\, \eta = \log \left (\frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\right ) = q(\theta )\) \begin {align*} 0 &< \theta < 1,\\ 0 & < \frac {\theta }{1 - \theta } < \infty \\ -\infty & < \eta < \infty \end {align*}
We make \(\theta \) the subject \begin {align*} e^{\eta } & = \frac {\theta }{1 - \theta }\\ \theta & = \frac {e^{\eta }}{1 + e^{\eta }}\\ 1 - \theta & = \frac {1}{1 + e^{\eta }} \end {align*}
The natural parameter space is
\[\Omega _{\eta } = \left \{\eta :\, -\infty < \eta < \infty \right \}\]
Therefore the canonical form is
\[f_{\eta }(x) = \left (\frac {1}{1 + e^{\eta }}\right )^n\, \exp \left \{\eta \, x \right \}\, \binom {n}{x}\]
no linear constraints on \(T(X) = X\) or \(\eta \) and \(\Omega _{\eta }\) contains a 1-dimensional rectangle.
\(\therefore \, X\, \thicksim \, BIN(n,\theta )\) has a REF distribution. □
1.6.3 Completeness in the Exponential Family
Theorem 1.6.9. If \(X\) has a regular exponential family distribution then \((T_1(X), \, \cdots \, , \, T_k(X))\) is a complete sufficient statistic.
Example 1.6.10. Let \(X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(N(\mu , \sigma ^2)\) distribution. Find a complete sufficient statistic for this model. Find the \(UMVUE\)s of \(\mu \) and \(\sigma ^2\).
Solution. \(X\, \thicksim \, N(\mu , \sigma ^2)\hspace {0.3cm} , \hspace {0.3cm} \theta = (\mu , \sigma ^2)\) \[\Omega = \left \{(\mu , \sigma ^2):\, -\infty < \mu < \infty , \, \, \sigma ^2 > 0\right \}\] \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x) & = \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi \sigma ^2}}\, e^{-\frac {1}{2\sigma ^2}(x - \mu )^2}\\ & = \frac {1}{\sigma ^2}\, e^{-\frac {1}{2\sigma ^2}(x^2 - 2\mu \, x + \mu ^2)}\, \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi }}\\ & = \underbrace {\frac {1}{\sigma ^2}}_{C(\theta )}\, e^{-\frac {\mu ^2}{2\sigma ^2}}\, \exp \Bigg \{\underbrace {-\frac {1}{2\sigma ^2}}_{q_1(\theta )}\, \underbrace {x^2}_{T_1(x)}\, + \, \underbrace {\frac {\mu }{\sigma ^2}}_{q_2(\theta }\, \underbrace {x}_{T_2(x)}\Bigg \}\, \underbrace {\frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi }}}_{h(x)} \end {align*}
\(\therefore \, f_{\theta }(x)\) is a member of the exponential family with natural sufficient statistic
\(\, T(X) = (X, X^2)\).
Let \begin {align*} \eta _1 & = q_1(\theta ) = -\frac {1}{2\sigma ^2}\\\\ \eta _2 & = q_2(\theta ) = \frac {\mu }{\sigma ^2} \end {align*}
The natural parameter space is \[\Omega _{\eta } = \left \{(\eta _1, \eta _2):\, \eta _1 < 0, \, \, -\infty < \eta _2 < \infty \right \}\]
- -
- No linear constraints on \(T_j \, '\)s or \(\eta _j\, '\)s.
- -
- \(\Omega _{\eta }\) contains a 2-dimensional rectangle
\[f_{\eta }(x) = C(\eta )\, \exp \left \{\eta _1\, x^2 + \eta _2\, x\right \}\, \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi }}\]
Therefore \(X\) has a REF distribution.
\(\therefore \, (X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n)\) has REF distribution with natural sufficient statistics
\[T(X) = \left (\sum ^n_{i = 1}X_i \, , \, \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i^2\right ).\]
\(T(X)\) is a completer sufficient statistic (Theorem 1.6.9).
\(\implies \,\left (\overline {X}\, , \, S^2\right )\) is also a complete sufficient statistic since \(E_{\theta }(\overline {X}) = \mu \) and \(E_{\theta }(S^2) = \sigma ^2\). Therefore \(\overline {X}\) is a \(UMVUE\) of \(\mu \) and \(S^2\) is a \(UMVUE\) of \(\sigma ^2\). □
Example 1.6.11. Show that \(X\thicksim N(\theta , \theta ^2)\) does not have a regular exponential family distribution.
Solution. \(f_{\theta }(x) = \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi \theta ^2}}\, e^{-\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}(x - \theta )^2}\) \[\Omega = \left \{\theta :\, \theta \neq 0\right \}\] \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x) & = \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi \, \theta ^2}}e^{-\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}(x - \theta )^2}\\ & = \frac {1}{|\theta |}\, e^{-\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}(x^2 - 2\theta x + \theta ^2)}\, \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi }}\\ & = \underbrace {\frac {1}{|\theta |}}_{C(\theta )}\, \exp \Bigg \{\underbrace {-\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}}_{q_1(\theta )}\, \underbrace {x^2}_{T_2(x)}\, + \, \underbrace {\frac {1}{\theta }}_{q_2(x)}\, \underbrace {x}_{T_2(x)}\Bigg \}\, \underbrace {\frac {e^{-\frac {1}{2}}}{\sqrt {2\pi }}}_{h(x)} \end {align*}
\(\therefore \, \, f_{\theta }(x)\) is a member of the REF with natural sufficient statistic \(T(X) = (X, X^2)\).
In Canonical form \begin {align*} \eta _1 & = q_1(\theta ) = -\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}\\ \eta _2 & = q_2(\theta ) = \frac {1}{\theta } \end {align*}
We have that \(\eta _1 = -\frac {1}{2\theta ^2}\) and \(\eta _2 = \frac {1}{\theta }\). \[\implies \hspace {0.5cm} \eta _1 = -\frac {1}{2}\, \eta ^2_2\] \[\Omega _{\eta } = \left \{(\eta _1, \eta _2):\, \eta _1 = -\frac {1}{2}\, \eta ^2_2\, , \, \, \eta _2 \neq 0\right \}.\]
- -
- Points in \(\Omega _{\eta }\) lie on the curve \(\eta _1 = -\frac {1}{2}\eta ^2_2\).
- -
- \(\Omega _{\eta }\) doesn’t contain a 2-dimensional rectangle.
\(\therefore \, f_{\theta }(x)\) doesn’t have a REF distribution. □
Example 1.6.12. Let \((X_1, \, X_2, \, X_3)\thicksim MULT(n, \theta _1, \theta _2, \theta _3)\). Find a \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = \theta _1\theta _2\).
Solution. \[f_{\theta }(x_1, x_2, x_3) = \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, x_3!}\theta _1^{x_1}\, \theta _2^{x_2}\, \theta _3^{x_3}\] \[x_i = 0, \, 1, \, \cdots \] \[x_1 + x_2 + x_3 = n\] \[0 < \theta _i < 1\] \[\theta _1 + \theta _2 + \theta _3 = 1\] \begin {align*} f_{\theta }(x_1, x_2,x_3) & = \exp \left \{\log \left (\theta _1^{x_1}\, \theta _2^{x_2}\, \theta _3^{x_3}\right )\right \}\, \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, x_3!}\\ & = \exp \left \{\log \theta _1^{x_1} + \log \theta _2^{x_2} + \log \theta _3^{x_3}\right \}\, \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, x_3!}\\ & = \exp \left \{\left (\log \theta _1\right )\, x_1 + \left (\log \theta _2\right )\, x_2 + \left (\log \theta _3\right )\, x_3\right \}\, \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, x_3!} \end {align*}
Therefore \(\, f_{\theta }(x_1, x_2, x_3)\) is a member of the EF with natural sufficient statistic
\(T(X) = (X_1, \, X_2, \, X_3) = (T_1, \, T_2, \, T_3).\)
\(T_1 + T_2 + T_3 = n \) - a linear constraint on \(T_j\,'\)s. We therefore rewrite it as \begin {align*} & f_{\theta }(x_1,x_2) = \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, (n - x_1 - x_2)!}\, \theta _1^{x_1}\, \theta _2^{x_2}\, (1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2)^{n - x_1 - x_2}\\ & = (1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2)^n\, \exp \left \{\log \left [\left (\frac {\theta _1}{1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2}\right )^{x_1}\, \left (\frac {\theta _2}{1 - \theta _1 -\theta _2}\right )^{x_2}\right ]\right \}\, \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, (n - x_1 - x_2)!}\\ & = (1 - \theta _1 -\theta _2)^n\, \exp \left \{x_1\, \log \left (\frac {\theta _1}{1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2}\right ) + x_2\, \log \left (\frac {\theta _2}{1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2}\right )\right \}\, \frac {n!}{x_1!\, x_2!\, (n - x_1 - x_2)!}. \end {align*}
\(\therefore \, f_{\theta }(x_1, x_2)\) is a member of the EF with natural sufficient statistic \(T = (X_1, X_2) = (T_1, T_2)\).
In Canonical form
\[\eta _1 = \log \left (\frac {\theta _1}{1 - \theta _1 -\theta _2}\right )\]
\[\eta _2 = \log \left (\frac {\theta _2}{1 - \theta _1 - \theta _2}\right )\]
\[\Omega _{\eta } = \left \{(\eta _1, \eta _2):\, -\infty < \eta _1 < \infty \, , \, -\infty < \eta _2 < \infty \right \}.\]
- -
- No linear constraints on \(T_j\,'\)s or \(\eta _j\, '\)s.
- -
- \(\Omega _{\eta }\) contains a 2-dimensional rectangle.
\[f_{\eta }(x_1, x_2) = \left (\frac {1}{1 + e^{\eta _1} + e^{\eta _2}}\right )^n\, \exp \left \{\eta _1\, x_1 + \eta _2\, x_2\right \}\, h(x)\]
is a REF distribution.
Therefore \(T(X) = (X_1, X_2)\) is a complete sufficient statistic.
\[E(X_1) = n\theta _1\, , \, E(X_2) = n\theta _2\, ,\, \cov (X_1, X_2) = -n\theta _1\theta _2.\]
\[COV(X_1,X_2) = E(X_1X_2) - E(X_1)E(X_2)\]
\[-n\theta _1\theta _2 + n\theta _1n\theta _2 - E(X_1X_2)\]
\[(n^2 - n)\theta _1\theta _2 = E(X_1X_2)\]
\[\frac {E(X_1X_2)}{n(n-1)} = \theta _1 \theta _2\]
\[E\left (\frac {X_1X_2}{n(n- 1)}\right ) = \theta _1\theta _2\]
\(\therefore \, T(X) = \frac {X_1X_2}{n(n-1)}\, \) is a \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = \theta _1\theta _2\). □
Example 1.6.13. Let \(X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(POI(\theta )\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = e^{-\theta }\).
Solution.
\[f_{\theta }(x) = \frac {e^{-\theta }\, \theta ^x}{x!}\,\hspace {0.2cm} , \hspace {0.3cm} x = 0, \, 1,\, 2, \, \cdots \cdots \]
Consider \(\, P(X_1 = 0) = e^{-\theta } = \tau (\theta )\).
Let \(\hspace {0.3cm} U = U(X_1) = \begin {cases} 1 & \text {if}\, \, \hspace {0.3cm} X_1 = 0\\ 0 & \text {otherwise}\\ \end {cases} \) \begin {align*} E(U) & = 1\times P(X_1 = 0) + 0\times P(X_1 = 0)\\ & = P(X_1 = 0)\\ & = e^{-\theta }. \end {align*}
\(POI(\theta )\) belongs the the REF distribution. Therefore \(T = \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i\) is a complete sufficient statistic. \[i.e\hspace {0.5cm} f_{\theta }(x) = e^{-\theta }\, \exp \left \{\left (\log \theta \right )\, x \right \}\, \frac {1}{x!}\] \[\eta = \log \theta \] \[\Omega = \left \{\eta :\, -\infty < \eta < \infty \right \}\]
- -
- \(\Omega _{\eta }\) contains a 1-dimensional rectangle.
- -
- No constraints on \(T\) or \(\eta \)
By Lehmaann-Scheff‘es theorem \(E\left [U/T = t\right ]\) is the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta )\) \begin {align*} E\left [U/T = t\right ] & = 1\times P(X_1 = 0/T = t) = \frac {P\left (X_1 = 0\,, \, \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i = t\right )}{P(T = t)}\\ & = \frac {P\left (X_1 = 0\, , \, \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i = t - 0\right )}{e^{-n\theta }(n\theta )^t/t!}\\ & = \frac {P(X_1 = 0)\, P\left (\sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i = t\right )}{e^{-n\theta }(n\theta )^t/t!}\\ & = \frac {e^{-\theta }\, \frac {e^{-(n - 1)\theta }((n-1)\theta )^t}{t!}}{e^{-n\theta }(n\theta )^t/t!}\\ & = \frac {e^{-n\theta }\, (n - 1)^t}{e^{-n\theta }\, n^t} = \left (\frac {n - 1}{n}\right )^t\, , \hspace {0.3cm} t = 0, \, 1, \, 2, \, \cdots \end {align*}
\(\therefore \, h(T) = \left (1 - \dfrac {1}{n}\right )^T\,\) is the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = e^{-\theta }\). □
Example 1.6.14. Let \(X_1, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(N(\theta ,1)\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\Phi (C - \theta ) = P(X\leq C)\) for some constant \(C\) where \(\Phi \) is the standard normal cumulative function.
Solution. \(\tau (\theta ) = \Phi (C - \theta ) = P(X\leq C)\)
Let \(\hspace {0.3cm} U(X_1) = \begin {cases} 1 & \text {if}\hspace {0.2cm} X\leq C\\ 0 & \text {otherwise} \end {cases}\)
\[E(U) = P(X\leq C)\]
\(N(\theta ,1)\,\) is a REF distribution. Therefore \(T = \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i \,\) is a complete sufficient statistic.
By Lehmann-Scheffe‘s Theorem \(E(U \mid T = t)\) is the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta )\).
\[f(x/T= t) = \frac {f(x , t)}{f_T(t)} = \frac {f(x, t-x)}{f_T(t)} = \frac {f(x)\, f(t -x)}{f_T(t)}.\]
\[T = \sum ^n_{i = 1} X_i\, \thicksim \, N(n\theta , n)\]
\[T - X = \sum ^{n - 1}_{i = 1} X_i \, \thicksim \, N\left ((n - 1)\theta , n - 1\right )\]
\begin {align*} & f(X/T = t) = \frac {\frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi }}\exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2}(x - \theta )^2\right \}\, \cdot \, \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi (n - 1)}}\exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2(n-1)}(t - x) - (n - 1)\theta )^2\right \}}{\frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi n}}\exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2n}(t - n\theta )^2\right \}}\\ & = \frac {\sqrt {n}}{\sqrt {2\pi (n - 1)}}\exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2}\left ((x - \theta )^2 + \frac {1}{n - 1}(t - x - (n - 1)\theta )^2 - \frac {1}{n}(t - n\theta )^2\right )\right \}\\ & = \frac {\sqrt {n}}{\sqrt {2\pi (n - 1)}}\, \exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2}\left ((x - \theta )^2 + \frac {(t - n\theta )^2}{n - 1} - \frac {2(t - \theta n)(x - \theta )}{n - 1} + \frac {(x - \theta )^2}{n - 1} - \frac {(t - n\theta )^2}{n}\right )\right \}\\ & = \frac {\sqrt {n}}{\sqrt {2\pi (n - 1)}}\, \exp \left \{\frac {-n}{2(n - 1)}\left (x^2 - \frac {2tx}{n} + \frac {t^2}{n^2}\right )\right \}\\ & = \frac {\sqrt {n}}{\sqrt {2\pi (n - 1)}}\, \exp \left \{\frac {-n}{2(n-1)}\left (x - \frac {t}{n}\right )^2\right \}\\ & = \frac {1}{\sqrt {2\pi \left (\frac {n - 1}{n}\right )}}\,\exp \left \{\frac {-1}{2\left (\frac {n - 1}{n}\right )}\left (x - \frac {t}{n}\right )^2\right \} \end {align*}
\[X/ T = t\, \thicksim \, N\left (\frac {t}{n}\, , \, \frac {n - 1}{n}\right )\] \begin {align*} E\left (U \mid T = t\right ) & = E\left [I(X\leq C)/ T = t\right ]\\ & = P\left (X \leq C / T = t\right )\\ & = P\left (\frac {X - t/n}{\sqrt {\frac {n - 1}{n}}} \, \leq \, \frac {C - t/n}{\sqrt {\frac {n - 1}{n}}}\right )\\ & = P\left (Z \, \leq \frac {C - t/n}{\sqrt {\frac {n - 1}{n}}}\right )\\ & = \Phi \left (\frac {C - t/n}{\sqrt {\frac {n - 1}{n}}}\right ) \end {align*}
\(\therefore \,\, \Phi \left (\frac {C - t/n}{\sqrt {\frac {n - 1}{n}}}\right )\) is the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = P(X\leq C)\). □
Problem 1.6.1. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample for the pdf \[f_{\theta }(x) = \theta \, x^{\theta - 1}\, , \,\hspace {0.3cm} 0 < x < 1, \, \, \theta > 0.\] Show that the geometric mean \[\left (\prod ^n_{i = 1} X_i \right )^{1/n}\] is a complete sufficient statistic and find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\theta \). \[\textit {Hint:} - \log X_i \, \thicksim \, Exp\left (\frac {1}{\theta }\right )\]
Show solution
Solution. Put \(Y_i = -\log X_i\). Since \(x=e^{-y}\) and \(\left |dx/dy\right | = e^{-y}\), \[f_Y(y) = \theta \left (e^{-y}\right )^{\theta -1}e^{-y} = \theta e^{-\theta y}, \qquad y>0 ,\] so \(Y_i\) is exponential with rate \(\theta \), as the hint states.
Writing the density as \(f_{\theta }(x) = \theta \exp \left \{(\theta -1)\log x\right \}\) exhibits a one-parameter exponential family with natural statistic \(\sum _i \log X_i\). Hence \(T = -\sum _{i=1}^{n}\log X_i = \sum _i Y_i\) is complete and sufficient, and \(T\sim \) GAM\((n,1/\theta )\) — shape \(n\), rate \(\theta \). The geometric mean \[G = \left (\prod _{i=1}^{n}X_i\right )^{1/n} = e^{-T/n}\] is a strictly monotone function of \(T\), so it is complete and sufficient too.
For the UMVUE, a gamma variable of shape \(n\) and rate \(\theta \) has \[E\left (\frac {1}{T}\right ) = \frac {\theta }{n-1}\qquad (n>1),\] so \((n-1)/T\) is unbiased for \(\theta \) and, being a function of a complete sufficient statistic, is the UMVUE: \[\widehat {\theta } = \frac {n-1}{T} = \frac {-(n-1)}{\sum _{i=1}^{n}\log X_i} = \frac {n-1}{-n\log G}.\] The maximum likelihood estimator is \(n/T\), so the two differ only in replacing \(n\) by \(n-1\) — the usual correction that converts a maximum likelihood estimator into an unbiased one.
Problem 1.6.2. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(GAM(\alpha , \beta )\) distribution and \(\theta = (\alpha , \beta )\). Find the \(UMVE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = \alpha \beta \).
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Solution. With both parameters unknown the density is \[f_{\theta }(x) = \frac {x^{\alpha -1}e^{-x/\beta }}{\beta ^{\alpha }\Gamma (\alpha )} = \frac {1}{\beta ^{\alpha }\Gamma (\alpha )} \exp \left \{(\alpha -1)\log x - \frac {x}{\beta }\right \},\] a two-parameter exponential family whose natural statistic is \[T = \left (\sum _{i=1}^{n}X_i,\ \sum _{i=1}^{n}\log X_i\right ),\] complete and sufficient because the natural parameter space \(\left \{(\alpha -1,\,-1/\beta ):\alpha >0,\beta >0\right \}\) contains an open rectangle.
Now \(E(X_i)=\alpha \beta \), so \(\overline {X}\) is unbiased for \(\tau (\theta )\), and it is a function of the first component of \(T\). By Lehmann–Scheffé it is therefore the UMVUE: \[\widehat {\alpha \beta } = \overline {X}.\]
Note. No calculation was needed beyond identifying the family. That is the point of the exponential-family machinery: once completeness is established, producing any unbiased function of the sufficient statistic settles the question, and here the obvious estimator already is one.
Problem 1.6.3. Let \(X\thicksim NBIN(k, \theta )\). Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\theta \). \[\textit {Hint:}\hspace {0.3cm}\, \text {Find}\,\,\, \, E\left (\frac {1}{X + K - 1}\right ).\]
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Solution. Take the negative binomial in the form \[P_{\theta }(X=x) = \binom {x+k-1}{x}\theta ^{k}(1-\theta )^{x}, \qquad x = 0,1,2,\dots \] the number of failures before the \(k\)-th success. This is a one-parameter exponential family in \(\theta \) and \(X\) is the whole sample, so \(X\) is complete and sufficient.
Following the hint, use the binomial identity \[\frac {1}{x+k-1}\binom {x+k-1}{x} = \frac {(x+k-2)!}{x!\,(k-1)!} = \frac {1}{k-1}\binom {x+k-2}{x},\] valid for \(k\geq 2\). Then \[E_{\theta }\left (\frac {1}{X+k-1}\right ) = \frac {1}{k-1}\sum _{x=0}^{\infty }\binom {x+k-2}{x}\theta ^{k}(1-\theta )^{x} = \frac {\theta }{k-1}\underbrace {\sum _{x=0}^{\infty }\binom {x+k-2}{x}\theta ^{k-1}(1-\theta )^{x}}_{\textstyle =\,1},\] the sum being the total mass of a NBIN\((k-1,\theta )\) distribution. Hence \[E_{\theta }\left (\frac {k-1}{X+k-1}\right ) = \theta ,\] and since this is a function of the complete sufficient statistic, \[\widehat {\theta } = \frac {k-1}{X+k-1}\] is the UMVUE, provided \(k\geq 2\).
Remark. For \(k=1\) — the geometric case — no unbiased estimator of \(\theta \) exists at all. Any candidate \(g(X)\) would have to satisfy \(\sum _x g(x)\theta (1-\theta )^{x} = \theta \) for every \(\theta \), forcing \(g(0)=1\) and \(g(x)=0\) thereafter; that estimator is unbiased but takes only the values \(0\) and \(1\), which is a reminder that unbiasedness on its own is a weak requirement.
Problem 1.6.4. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(N(\theta , 1)\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = \theta ^2\).
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Solution. With unit variance the family is exponential with natural statistic \(\sum _i X_i\), so \(\overline {X}\) is complete and sufficient. Since \(\overline {X}\sim N\left (\theta ,\ 1/n\right )\), \[E\left (\overline {X}^{2}\right ) = \var \left (\overline {X}\right ) + \left [E\left (\overline {X}\right )\right ]^{2} = \frac {1}{n} + \theta ^{2}.\] Subtracting the constant gives an unbiased estimator which, being a function of the complete sufficient statistic, is the UMVUE: \[\widehat {\theta ^{2}} = \overline {X}^{2} - \frac {1}{n}.\]
As in the EXP\((1,\theta )\) problem earlier, the estimator is negative whenever \(\left |\overline {X}\right | < 1/\sqrt {n}\), although \(\theta ^{2}\) cannot be. The same comment applies: unbiasedness constrains the average, not the individual value.
Problem 1.6.5. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(N(0, \theta )\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau (\theta ) = \theta ^2\).
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Solution. Here \(\theta \) is the variance and the mean is known to be zero, so \[f_{\theta }(x) = \left (2\pi \theta \right )^{-1/2}\exp \left \{-\frac {x^{2}}{2\theta }\right \}\] is a one-parameter exponential family with natural statistic \(\sum _i X_i^{2}\). Thus \(T=\sum _{i=1}^{n}X_i^{2}\) is complete and sufficient, and \(T/\theta \sim \chi ^{2}_{(n)}\), so \[E(T) = n\theta ,\qquad \var (T) = 2n\theta ^{2},\qquad E\left (T^{2}\right ) = 2n\theta ^{2} + n^{2}\theta ^{2} = n(n+2)\,\theta ^{2}.\] Therefore \[\widehat {\theta ^{2}} = \frac {T^{2}}{n(n+2)} = \frac {\left (\sum _{i=1}^{n}X_i^{2}\right )^{2}}{n(n+2)}\] is unbiased and hence the UMVUE.
Note. Contrast this with the previous problem: because the parameter is now the variance, the natural statistic is the sum of squares rather than the sum, and the estimator of \(\theta ^{2}\) is a multiple of \(T^{2}\) with no correction term needed. The divisor \(n(n+2)\) rather than \(n^{2}\) is exactly the variance of the chi-square distribution making itself felt.
Problem 1.6.6. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(POI(\theta )\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) for \(\tau (\theta ) = \left (1 + \theta \right )\, e^{-\theta }\).
Hint: Find \(P(X \leq 1)\).
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Solution. Note first that \(\tau (\theta ) = P_{\theta }\left (X_1\leq 1\right )\), as the hint suggests, since a Poisson variable takes the values \(0\) and \(1\) with probabilities \(e^{-\theta }\) and \(\theta e^{-\theta }\).
So \(U = I\left (X_1\leq 1\right )\) is an unbiased estimator of \(\tau (\theta )\), though a poor one — it uses one observation and takes only two values. Rao–Blackwellise it on the complete sufficient statistic \(T=\sum _{i=1}^{n}X_i\sim \) POI\((n\theta )\). Given \(T=t\) the conditional distribution of \(X_1\) is binomial with \(t\) trials and success probability \(1/n\), so \begin {align*} E\left (U\mid T=t\right ) &= P\left (X_1\leq 1\mid T=t\right ) = \left (1-\frac 1n\right )^{t} + t\cdot \frac 1n\left (1-\frac 1n\right )^{t-1}\\[2pt] &= \frac {(n-1)^{t} + t\,(n-1)^{t-1}}{n^{t}} = \frac {(n-1)^{\,t-1}\left (n-1+t\right )}{n^{t}} . \end {align*}
Hence the UMVUE is \[\widehat {\tau } = \frac {(n-1)^{\,T-1}\left (n-1+T\right )}{n^{T}},\] interpreted as \(1\) when \(T=0\).
Note. The three moving parts here are worth separating. Finding an unbiased estimator was easy, because \(\tau \) was recognised as a probability. Improving it was mechanical, because conditioning on a sufficient statistic can only help. Knowing the result is best required completeness. Every UMVUE in this section is built the same way.
Problem 1.6.7. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(POI(\theta )\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) for \(\tau (\theta ) = e^{-2\theta }\). \[\textit {Hint:}\hspace {0.3cm} E_{\theta }\left [(-1)^{X_1}\right ]\]
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Solution. Following the hint, \[E_{\theta }\left [(-1)^{X_1}\right ] = \sum _{x=0}^{\infty }(-1)^{x}\frac {e^{-\theta }\theta ^{x}}{x!} = e^{-\theta }\sum _{x=0}^{\infty }\frac {(-\theta )^{x}}{x!} = e^{-\theta }e^{-\theta } = e^{-2\theta },\] so \(U=(-1)^{X_1}\) is unbiased for \(\tau (\theta )\).
Rao–Blackwellise on \(T=\sum _i X_i\). Given \(T=t\) we have \(X_1\sim \) BIN\((t,1/n)\), and the binomial theorem gives \[E\left [(-1)^{X_1}\mid T=t\right ] = \sum _{x=0}^{t}\binom {t}{x}\left (-\frac 1n\right )^{x}\left (1-\frac 1n\right )^{t-x} = \left (1-\frac 1n-\frac 1n\right )^{t} = \left (\frac {n-2}{n}\right )^{t}.\] Since \(T\) is complete and sufficient, the UMVUE is \[\widehat {\tau } = \left (\frac {n-2}{n}\right )^{T}.\]
Remark. For \(n=2\) the estimator is \(0^{T}\), which is \(1\) if \(T=0\) and \(0\) otherwise, and for \(n=1\) it is \((-1)^{T}\) — an estimator of a positive quantity that is negative half the time. Both are the UMVUE at those sample sizes, which shows how little “uniformly minimum variance unbiased” guarantees when the sample is small. The estimator becomes sensible only once \(n\) is large enough that \((n-2)/n\) is close to one.
Problem 1.6.8. Let \(X_1, \, X_2, \, \cdots \, , \, X_n\) be a random sample from the \(GAM(2, \theta )\) distribution. Find the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau _1(\theta ) = \frac {1}{\theta }\) and the \(UMVUE\) of \(\tau _2(\theta ) = P\left (X_1 > c\right )\) where \(c>0\) is a constant.
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Solution. Take GAM\((2,\theta )\) to have shape \(2\) and scale \(\theta \), so that \(f_{\theta }(x) = x e^{-x/\theta }/\theta ^{2}\) for \(x>0\). This is a one-parameter exponential family with natural statistic \(\sum _i X_i\), so \(T=\sum _{i=1}^{n}X_i\sim \) GAM\((2n,\theta )\) is complete and sufficient.
The UMVUE of \(\tau _1(\theta )=1/\theta \)
For a gamma variable of shape \(a\) and scale \(\theta \), \(E\left (T^{-1}\right ) = 1/\left [\theta (a-1)\right ]\). With \(a=2n\), \[E\left (\frac {1}{T}\right ) = \frac {1}{\theta \,(2n-1)} \qquad \Longrightarrow \qquad \widehat {\tau _1} = \frac {2n-1}{T} .\]
The UMVUE of \(\tau _2(\theta )=P\left (X_1>c\right )\)
Start from the unbiased indicator \(U = I\left (X_1>c\right )\) and condition on \(T\). Given \(T=t\), the ratio \(X_1/T\) has the Beta\((2,\,2n-2)\) distribution — the standard result for independent gamma variables with a common scale, and note the scale \(\theta \) has cancelled, which is what makes the conditional law free of the parameter. Hence for \(t>c\), \[P\left (X_1>c \mid T=t\right ) = \int _{c/t}^{1}(2n-1)(2n-2)\,u\,(1-u)^{2n-3}\,du = \left (1-\frac {c}{t}\right )^{2n-2}\left [1+(2n-2)\frac {c}{t}\right ],\] and the probability is zero when \(t\leq c\). The UMVUE is therefore \[\widehat {\tau _2} = \begin {cases} \left (1-\dfrac {c}{T}\right )^{2n-2}\left [1+(2n-2)\dfrac {c}{T}\right ], & T>c,\\[10pt] 0, & T\leq c . \end {cases}\]
A check: at \(n=1\) the sample is the single observation \(X_1=T\), the exponent \(2n-2\) is zero and the bracket is one, so the estimator reduces to \(I\left (X_1>c\right )\) — exactly the indicator we started from, as it must.
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