Generalized mutual information and their reference priors under Csizar f-divergence

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Van Biesbroeck, Antoine
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Van Biesbroeck, Antoine
author_facet Van Biesbroeck, Antoine
contents In Bayesian theory, the role of information is central. The influence exerted by prior information on posterior outcomes often jeopardizes Bayesian studies, due to the potentially subjective nature of the prior choice. In modeling where a priori knowledge is lacking, the reference prior theory emerges as a proficient tool. Based on the criterion of mutual information, this theory makes it possible to construct a non-informative prior whose choice can be qualified as objective. In this paper, we contribute to the enrichment of reference prior theory. Indeed, we unveil an original analogy between reference prior theory and Global Sensitivity Analysis, from which we propose a natural generalization of the mutual information definition. Leveraging dissimilarity measures between probability distributions, such as f-divergences, we provide a formalized framework for what we term generalized reference priors. Our main result offers a limit of mutual information, simplifying the definition of reference priors as its maximal arguments. This approach opens a new way that facilitates the theoretical derivation of reference priors under constraints or within specific classes. In the absence of constraints, we further prove that the Jeffreys prior maximizes the generalized mutual information considered.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_10530
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generalized mutual information and their reference priors under Csizar f-divergence
Van Biesbroeck, Antoine
Statistics Theory
62F15 (Primary) 62A01, 62B10 (Secondary)
In Bayesian theory, the role of information is central. The influence exerted by prior information on posterior outcomes often jeopardizes Bayesian studies, due to the potentially subjective nature of the prior choice. In modeling where a priori knowledge is lacking, the reference prior theory emerges as a proficient tool. Based on the criterion of mutual information, this theory makes it possible to construct a non-informative prior whose choice can be qualified as objective. In this paper, we contribute to the enrichment of reference prior theory. Indeed, we unveil an original analogy between reference prior theory and Global Sensitivity Analysis, from which we propose a natural generalization of the mutual information definition. Leveraging dissimilarity measures between probability distributions, such as f-divergences, we provide a formalized framework for what we term generalized reference priors. Our main result offers a limit of mutual information, simplifying the definition of reference priors as its maximal arguments. This approach opens a new way that facilitates the theoretical derivation of reference priors under constraints or within specific classes. In the absence of constraints, we further prove that the Jeffreys prior maximizes the generalized mutual information considered.
title Generalized mutual information and their reference priors under Csizar f-divergence
topic Statistics Theory
62F15 (Primary) 62A01, 62B10 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.10530