We propose a new method to find spatially adaptive smoothing splines. This new method breaks down the interval [0, 1] into p disjoint sub-intervals. Then we define p functional components in [0, 1], which have two importantfeatures. First, the purpose of each of these p components is to estimate...

Statistical flowgraphs represent multistate semi-Markov processes using integral transforms of transition time distributions between adjacent states; these are combinedalgebraically and inverted to derive parametric estimates for first passage time distributions between nonadjacent states. This...

Functional data analysis (FDA) is an active field of statistics, in which the primary subjectsin the study are curves. My dissertation consists of two innovative applications offunctional data analysis in biology. The data that motivated the research broadened thescope of FDA and demanded new...

We consider a random design model based on independent and identically distributed pairs of observations (Xi, Yi), where the regression function m(x) is given by m(x) = E(Yi|Xi = x) with one independent variable. In a nonparametric setting the aim is to produce a reasonable approximation to the...

We apply semiparametric efficient estimation procedures for a seemingly unrelated regression model where the multivariate error density is elliptically symmetric to study the efficiency of the foreign exchange market. We consider both cointegrating regressions and standard stationary...

The analysis of technical efficiency (TE) on the small-scale fishery is relevant for several reasons. While this type of fishery is highly common in developing countries like Mexico, there are a very limited number of analyses assessing their efficiency. Indeed, there is no precise information...

Over the last two decades most European countries have been subject to a strong and persistent increase in their unemployment rates, leading these countries to attempt to combat obdurately high unemployment by exercising measures of Active Labor Market Policy (ALMP). These measures can be...

Despite of the particular importance of wealth as a measure of economic well-being and the various functions of wealth, its distribution on the individual level as well as the reasons for inequality in wealth holdings in Germany have not been fully explored. Marital splits constitute a potential...

Determnation of the structure of a medium from normal-incidenceacoustic reflection data is a basic problem in fieldsas diverse as medical technology and the earth sciences; thisresearch examines the accuracy with which quantitative structureestimates can be made from noise-corrupted...