ASYMPTOTIC SIZE AND A PROBLEM WITH SUBSAMPLING AND WITH THE m OUT OF n BOOTSTRAP

This paper considers inference based on a test statistic that has a limit distribution that is discontinuous in a parameter. The paper shows that subsampling and <italic>m</italic> out of <italic>n</italic> bootstrap tests based on such a test statistic often have asymptotic size—defined as the limit of exact size—that is greater than the nominal level of the tests. This is due to a lack of uniformity in the pointwise asymptotics. We determine precisely the asymptotic size of such tests under a general set of high-level conditions that are relatively easy to verify. The results show that the asymptotic size of subsampling and <italic>m</italic> out of <italic>n</italic> bootstrap tests is distorted in some examples but not in others.