Bootstrapping pairs in Distance-Based Regression

Distance-based regression is a prediction method consisting of two steps: from distances between observations we obtain latent variables which, in turn, are the regressors in an ordinary least squares linear model. Distances are computed from actually observed predictors by means of a suitable dissimilarity function. Being in general nonlinearly related with the response their selection by the usual F tests is unavailable. In this paper we propose a solution to this predictor selection problem, by defining generalized test statistics and adapting a non-parametric bootstrap method to estimate their p-values. We include a numerical example with automobile insurance data.