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We study the problem of modeling and inference for spatio-temporal count processes. Our approach uses parsimonious parameterisations of multivariate autoregressive count time series models, including possible regression on covariates. We control the number of parameters by specifying spatial neighbourhood structures for possibly huge matrices that take into account spatio-temporal dependencies. This work is motivated by real data applications which call for suitable models. Extensive simulation studies show that our approach yields reliable estimators., Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures and 22 tables

A novel methodology is proposed for clustering multivariate time series data using energy distance defined in Sz\'ekely and Rizzo (2013). Specifically, a dissimilarity matrix is formed using the energy distance statistic to measure separation between the finite dimensional distributions for the component time series. Once the pairwise dissimilarity matrix is calculated, a hierarchical clustering method is then applied to obtain the dendrogram. This procedure is completely nonparametric as the dissimilarities between stationary distributions are directly calculated without making any model assumptions. In order to justify this procedure, asymptotic properties of the energy distance estimates are derived for general stationary and ergodic time series. The method is illustrated in a simulation study for various component time series that are either linear or nonlinear. Finally the methodology is applied to two examples; one involves GDP of selected countries and the other is population size of various states in the U.S.A. in the years 1900 -1999., Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Journal of Time Series Anaylsis

We consider the problem of inference for non-stationary time series with heavy-tailed error distribution. Under a time-varying linear process framework we show that there exists a suitable local approximation by a stationary process with heavy-tails. This enable us to introduce a local approximation-based estimator which estimates consistently time-varying parameters of the model at hand. To develop a robust method, we also suggest a self-weighing scheme which is shown to recover the asymptotic normality of the estimator regardless of whether the finite variance of the underlying process exists. Empirical evidence favoring this approach is provided., Comment: 44 pages, 3 figures and 9 tables

We introduce a new R package useful for inference about network count time series. Such data are frequently encountered in statistics and they are usually treated as multivariate time series. Their statistical analysis is based on linear or log linear models. Nonlinear models, which have been applied successfully in several research areas, have been neglected from such applications mainly because of their computational complexity. We provide R users the flexibility to fit and study nonlinear network count time series models which include either a drift in the intercept or a regime switching mechanism. We develop several computational tools including estimation of various count Network Autoregressive models and fast computational algorithms for testing linearity in standard cases and when non-identifiable parameters hamper the analysis. Finally, we introduce a copula Poisson algorithm for simulating multivariate network count time series. We illustrate the methodology by modeling weekly number of influenza cases in Germany.

We propose a general class of INteger-valued Generalized AutoRegressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic (INGARCH) processes by allowing time-varying mean and dispersion parameters, which we call time-varying dispersion INGARCH (tv-DINGARCH) models. More specifically, we consider mixed Poisson INGARCH models and allow for dynamic modeling of the dispersion parameter (as well as the mean), similar to the spirit of the ordinary GARCH models. We derive conditions to obtain first and second-order stationarity, and ergodicity as well. Estimation of the parameters is addressed and their associated asymptotic properties are established as well. A restricted bootstrap procedure is proposed for testing constant dispersion against time-varying dispersion. Monte Carlo simulation studies are presented for checking point estimation, standard errors, and the performance of the restricted bootstrap approach. We apply the tv-DINGARCH process to model the weekly number of reported measles infections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from January 2001 to May 2013, and compare its performance to the ordinary INGARCH approach., Comment: Paper submitted for publication

We study general nonlinear models for time series networks of integer and continuous valued data. The vector of high dimensional responses, measured on the nodes of a known network, is regressed non-linearly on its lagged value and on lagged values of the neighboring nodes by employing a smooth link function. We study stability conditions for such multivariate process and develop quasi maximum likelihood inference when the network dimension is increasing. In addition, we study linearity score tests by treating separately the cases of identifiable and non-identifiable parameters. In the case of identifiability, the test statistic converges to a chi-square distribution. When the parameters are not-identifiable, we develop a supremum-type test whose p-values are approximated adequately by employing a feasible bound and bootstrap methodology. Simulations and data examples support further our findings., Comment: To appear in The Annals of Statistics

We consider network autoregressive models for count data with a non-random neighborhood structure. The main methodological contribution is the development of conditions that guarantee stability and valid statistical inference for such models. We consider both cases of fixed and increasing network dimension and we show that quasi-likelihood inference provides consistent and asymptotically normally distributed estimators. The work is complemented by simulation results and a data example., Comment: To appear in Journal of Time Series Analysis

We review autoregressive models for the analysis of multivariate count time series. In doing so, we discuss the choice of a suitable distribution for a vectors of count random variables. This review focus on three main approaches taken for multivariate count time series analysis: (a) integer autoregressive processes, (b) parameter-driven models and (c) observation-driven models. The aim of this work is to highlight some recent methodological developments and propose some potentially useful research topics.

The Republic of Cyprus is a small island in the southeast of Europe and member of the European Union. The first wave of COVID-19 in Cyprus started in early March, 2020 (imported cases) and peaked in late March-early April. The health authorities responded rapidly and rigorously to the COVID-19 pandemic by scaling-up testing, increasing efforts to trace and isolate contacts of cases, and implementing measures such as closures of educational institutions, and travel and movement restrictions. The pandemic was also a unique opportunity that brought together experts from various disciplines including epidemiologists, clinicians, mathematicians, and statisticians. The aim of this paper is to present the efforts of this new, multidisciplinary research team in modelling the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Cyprus.

We consider a general monotone regression estimation where we allow for independent and dependent regressors. We propose a modification of the classical isotonic least squares estimator and establish its rate of convergence for the integrated $L_1$-loss function. The methodology captures the shape of the data without assuming additivity or a parametric form for the regression function. Furthermore, the degree of smoothing is chosen automatically and no auxiliary tuning is required for the theoretical analysis. Some simulations and two real data illustrations complement the study of the proposed estimator.

The concept of distance covariance/correlation was introduced recently to characterize dependence among vectors of random variables. We review some statistical aspects of distance covariance/correlation function and we demonstrate its applicability to time series analysis. We will see that the auto-distance covariance/correlation function is able to identify nonlinear relationships and can be employed for testing the i.i.d.\ hypothesis. Comparisons with other measures of dependence are included.

We study the problem of stationarity and ergodicity for autoregressive multinomial logistic time series models which possibly include a latent process and are defined by a GARCH-type recursive equation. We improve considerably upon the existing results related to stationarity and ergodicity conditions of such models. Proofs are based on theory developed for chains with complete connections. This approach is based on a useful coupling technique which is utilized for studying ergodicity of more general finite-state stochastic processes. Such processes generalize finite-state Markov chains by assuming infinite order models of past values. For finite order Markov chains, we also discuss ergodicity properties when some strongly exogenous covariates are considered in the dynamics of the process.

We are studying the problems of modeling and inference for multivariate count time series data with Poisson marginals. The focus is on linear and log-linear models. For studying the properties of such processes we develop a novel conceptual framework which is based on copulas. However, our approach does not impose the copula on a vector of counts; instead the joint distribution is determined by imposing a copula function on a vector of associated continuous random variables. This specific construction avoids conceptual difficulties resulting from the joint distribution of discrete random variables yet it keeps the properties of the Poisson process marginally. We employ Markov chain theory and the notion of weak dependence to study ergodicity and stationarity of the models we consider. We obtain easily verifiable conditions for both linear and log-linear models under both theoretical frameworks. Suitable estimating equations are suggested for estimating unknown model parameters. The large sample properties of the resulting estimators are studied in detail. The work concludes with some simulations and a real data example.

We introduce the concept of local dyadic stationarity, to account for non-stationary time series, within the framework of Walsh-Fourier analysis. We define and study the time varying dyadic ARMA models (tvDARMA). It is proven that the general tvDARMA process can be approximated locally by either a tvDMA and a tvDAR process., Comment: 27 pages, 2 figures

Inference based on the penalized density ratio model is proposed and studied. The model under consideration is specified by assuming that the log--likelihood function of two unknown densities is of some parametric form. The model has been extended to cover multiple samples problems while its theoretical properties have been investigated using large sample theory. A main application of the density ratio model is testing whether two, or more, distributions are equal. We extend these results by arguing that the penalized maximum empirical likelihood estimator has less mean square error than that of the ordinary maximum likelihood estimator, especially for small samples. In fact, penalization resolves any existence problems of estimators and a modified Wald type test statistic can be employed for testing equality of the two distributions. A limited simulation study supports further the theory., Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-EJS078 the Electronic Journal of Statistics (http://www.i-journals.org/ejs/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)