Bayesian Generative Adversarial Networks via Gaussian Approximation for Tabular Data Synthesis

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nasution, Bahrul Ilmi, Elliot, Mark, Allmendinger, Richard
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Nasution, Bahrul Ilmi
Elliot, Mark
Allmendinger, Richard
author_facet Nasution, Bahrul Ilmi
Elliot, Mark
Allmendinger, Richard
contents Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) have been used in many studies to synthesise mixed tabular data. Conditional tabular GAN (CTGAN) have been the most popular variant but struggle to effectively navigate the risk-utility trade-off. Bayesian GAN have received less attention for tabular data, but have been explored with unstructured data such as images and text. The most used technique employed in Bayesian GAN is Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), but it is computationally intensive, particularly in terms of weight storage. In this paper, we introduce Gaussian Approximation of CTGAN (GACTGAN), an integration of the Bayesian posterior approximation technique using Stochastic Weight Averaging-Gaussian (SWAG) within the CTGAN generator to synthesise tabular data, reducing computational overhead after the training phase. We demonstrate that GACTGAN yields better synthetic data compared to CTGAN, achieving better preservation of tabular structure and inferential statistics with less privacy risk. These results highlight GACTGAN as a simpler, effective implementation of Bayesian tabular synthesis.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_21948
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bayesian Generative Adversarial Networks via Gaussian Approximation for Tabular Data Synthesis
Nasution, Bahrul Ilmi
Elliot, Mark
Allmendinger, Richard
Machine Learning
Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) have been used in many studies to synthesise mixed tabular data. Conditional tabular GAN (CTGAN) have been the most popular variant but struggle to effectively navigate the risk-utility trade-off. Bayesian GAN have received less attention for tabular data, but have been explored with unstructured data such as images and text. The most used technique employed in Bayesian GAN is Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), but it is computationally intensive, particularly in terms of weight storage. In this paper, we introduce Gaussian Approximation of CTGAN (GACTGAN), an integration of the Bayesian posterior approximation technique using Stochastic Weight Averaging-Gaussian (SWAG) within the CTGAN generator to synthesise tabular data, reducing computational overhead after the training phase. We demonstrate that GACTGAN yields better synthetic data compared to CTGAN, achieving better preservation of tabular structure and inferential statistics with less privacy risk. These results highlight GACTGAN as a simpler, effective implementation of Bayesian tabular synthesis.
title Bayesian Generative Adversarial Networks via Gaussian Approximation for Tabular Data Synthesis
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21948