Estimation of Semiparametric Factor Models with Missing Data

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zheng, Sijie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914182869286912
author Zheng, Sijie
author_facet Zheng, Sijie
contents We study semiparametric factor models in high-dimensional panels where the factor loadings consist of a nonparametric component explained by observed covariates and an idiosyncratic component capturing unobserved heterogeneity. A key challenge in empirical applications is the presence of missing observations, which can distort both factor recovery and loading estimation. To address this issue, we develop a projected principal component analysis (PPCA) procedure that accommodates general missing-at-random mechanisms through inverse-probability weighting. We establish consistency and derive the asymptotic distributions of the estimated factors and loading functions, allowing the sieve dimension to diverge and permitting the time dimension to be either fixed or growing. Unlike classical PCA, PPCA achieves consistent factor estimation even when T is fixed, and the limiting distributions under missing data exhibit mixture normality with enlarged asymptotic variances. Theoretical results are supported by simulations and an empirical application. Our findings demonstrate that PPCA provides an effective and robust framework for estimating semiparametric factor models in the presence of missing data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_03235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Estimation of Semiparametric Factor Models with Missing Data
Zheng, Sijie
Methodology
We study semiparametric factor models in high-dimensional panels where the factor loadings consist of a nonparametric component explained by observed covariates and an idiosyncratic component capturing unobserved heterogeneity. A key challenge in empirical applications is the presence of missing observations, which can distort both factor recovery and loading estimation. To address this issue, we develop a projected principal component analysis (PPCA) procedure that accommodates general missing-at-random mechanisms through inverse-probability weighting. We establish consistency and derive the asymptotic distributions of the estimated factors and loading functions, allowing the sieve dimension to diverge and permitting the time dimension to be either fixed or growing. Unlike classical PCA, PPCA achieves consistent factor estimation even when T is fixed, and the limiting distributions under missing data exhibit mixture normality with enlarged asymptotic variances. Theoretical results are supported by simulations and an empirical application. Our findings demonstrate that PPCA provides an effective and robust framework for estimating semiparametric factor models in the presence of missing data.
title Estimation of Semiparametric Factor Models with Missing Data
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.03235