Gradient-based filtering under misspecification: Stability and error bounds

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: van Heel, Simon Donker, Lange, Rutger-Jan, van Os, Bram, van Dijk, Dick
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author van Heel, Simon Donker
Lange, Rutger-Jan
van Os, Bram
van Dijk, Dick
author_facet van Heel, Simon Donker
Lange, Rutger-Jan
van Os, Bram
van Dijk, Dick
contents Can stochastic gradient methods track a moving target? We study the problem of tracking multidimensional time-varying parameters under noisy observations and possible model misspecification. Gradient-based filters update the time-varying parameters using the gradient of a postulated objective function. A natural filtering objective is the logarithm of the postulated observation density, which gives rise to the widely used class of score-driven filters. As in the optimization literature, these filters come in two forms: explicit filters evaluate the gradient at the predicted parameter, whereas implicit filters evaluate it at the updated parameter. For both filter types, we derive novel sufficient conditions for exponential stability of the filtered parameter path, showing that stability can be guaranteed independently of the data-generating process. Under mild additional moment conditions on the data-generating process, we also obtain finite-sample and asymptotic mean squared error bounds relative to the pseudo-true parameter path. For implicit filters, these guarantees hold under weak parameter restrictions. For explicit filters, they additionally require Lipschitz continuity of the score and a sufficiently small learning rate. Simulation studies support our theoretical findings and show that implicit gradient filters outperform explicit ones in both accuracy and stability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_05021
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gradient-based filtering under misspecification: Stability and error bounds
van Heel, Simon Donker
Lange, Rutger-Jan
van Os, Bram
van Dijk, Dick
Methodology
Signal Processing
Machine Learning
Can stochastic gradient methods track a moving target? We study the problem of tracking multidimensional time-varying parameters under noisy observations and possible model misspecification. Gradient-based filters update the time-varying parameters using the gradient of a postulated objective function. A natural filtering objective is the logarithm of the postulated observation density, which gives rise to the widely used class of score-driven filters. As in the optimization literature, these filters come in two forms: explicit filters evaluate the gradient at the predicted parameter, whereas implicit filters evaluate it at the updated parameter. For both filter types, we derive novel sufficient conditions for exponential stability of the filtered parameter path, showing that stability can be guaranteed independently of the data-generating process. Under mild additional moment conditions on the data-generating process, we also obtain finite-sample and asymptotic mean squared error bounds relative to the pseudo-true parameter path. For implicit filters, these guarantees hold under weak parameter restrictions. For explicit filters, they additionally require Lipschitz continuity of the score and a sufficiently small learning rate. Simulation studies support our theoretical findings and show that implicit gradient filters outperform explicit ones in both accuracy and stability.
title Gradient-based filtering under misspecification: Stability and error bounds
topic Methodology
Signal Processing
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05021