Inference in partially identified moment models via regularized optimal transport

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Franguridi, Grigory, Liu, Laura
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Franguridi, Grigory
Liu, Laura
author_facet Franguridi, Grigory
Liu, Laura
contents Partial identification often arises when the joint distribution of the data is known only up to its marginals. We consider the corresponding partially identified GMM model and develop a methodology for identification, estimation, and inference in this model. We characterize the sharp identified set for the parameter of interest via a support-function/optimal-transport (OT) representation. For estimation, we employ entropic regularization, which provides a smooth approximation to classical OT and can be computed efficiently by the Sinkhorn algorithm. We also propose a statistic for testing hypotheses and constructing confidence regions for the identified set. To derive the asymptotic distribution of this statistic, we establish a novel central limit theorem for the entropic OT value under general smooth costs. We then obtain valid critical values using the bootstrap for directionally differentiable functionals of Fang and Santos (2019). The resulting testing procedure controls size locally uniformly, including at parameter values on the boundary of the identified set. We illustrate its performance in a Monte Carlo simulation. Our methodology is applicable to a wide range of empirical settings, such as panels with attrition and refreshment samples, nonlinear treatment effects, nonparametric instrumental variables without large-support conditions, and Euler equations with repeated cross-sections.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_18084
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inference in partially identified moment models via regularized optimal transport
Franguridi, Grigory
Liu, Laura
Econometrics
Statistics Theory
Partial identification often arises when the joint distribution of the data is known only up to its marginals. We consider the corresponding partially identified GMM model and develop a methodology for identification, estimation, and inference in this model. We characterize the sharp identified set for the parameter of interest via a support-function/optimal-transport (OT) representation. For estimation, we employ entropic regularization, which provides a smooth approximation to classical OT and can be computed efficiently by the Sinkhorn algorithm. We also propose a statistic for testing hypotheses and constructing confidence regions for the identified set. To derive the asymptotic distribution of this statistic, we establish a novel central limit theorem for the entropic OT value under general smooth costs. We then obtain valid critical values using the bootstrap for directionally differentiable functionals of Fang and Santos (2019). The resulting testing procedure controls size locally uniformly, including at parameter values on the boundary of the identified set. We illustrate its performance in a Monte Carlo simulation. Our methodology is applicable to a wide range of empirical settings, such as panels with attrition and refreshment samples, nonlinear treatment effects, nonparametric instrumental variables without large-support conditions, and Euler equations with repeated cross-sections.
title Inference in partially identified moment models via regularized optimal transport
topic Econometrics
Statistics Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.18084