Design and Structure Dependent Priors for Scale Parameters in Latent Gaussian Models

Relatore: Aldo Gardini - Università di Bologna

  • Data: 09 marzo 2023 dalle 14:00 alle 15:00

  • Luogo: Aula 22, Piazza Scaravilli

Abstract
Bayesian inference in latent Gaussian models requires to set the prior distribution for scale parameters that rules the model components. This task is particularly delicate and many contributions in the literature are devoted to investigating such aspects. We focus on the fact that the scale parameter controls the prior variability of the model component in a complex way since its dispersion is also affected by the correlation structure and the design.
To overcome this issue that might confound the prior elicitation step, we propose to let the user specify the marginal prior of a measure of dispersion of the model component, integrating out the scale parameter, the structure and the design. Then, we derive the analytical expression of the implied prior for the scale parameter. Results from a simulation study, aimed at showing the behavior of the estimators sampling properties under the proposed prior elicitation strategy, are discussed. Lastly, some real data applications are explored to investigate prior sensitivity and allocation of explained variance among model components.

Organizzatore
Laura Anderlucci