Catching Up Faster in Bayesian Model Selection and Model Averaging

Part of Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 20 (NIPS 2007)

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Authors

Tim Erven, Steven Rooij, Peter Grünwald

Abstract

Bayesian model averaging, model selection and their approximations such as BIC are generally statistically consistent, but sometimes achieve slower rates of con- vergence than other methods such as AIC and leave-one-out cross-validation. On the other hand, these other methods can be inconsistent. We identify the catch-up phenomenon as a novel explanation for the slow convergence of Bayesian meth- ods. Based on this analysis we define the switch-distribution, a modification of the Bayesian model averaging distribution. We prove that in many situations model selection and prediction based on the switch-distribution is both consistent and achieves optimal convergence rates, thereby resolving the AIC-BIC dilemma. The method is practical; we give an efficient algorithm.