Robust estimation of risks from small samples
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Accepted version
Supporting information
Author(s)
Tindemans, S
Strbac, G
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Data-driven risk analysis involves the inference of probability distributions from measured or simulated data. In the case of a highly reliable system, such as the electricity grid, the amount of relevant data is often exceedingly limited, but the impact of estimation errors may be very large. This paper presents a robust non-parametric Bayesian method to infer possible underlying distributions. The method obtains rigorous error bounds even for small samples taken from ill-behaved distributions. The approach taken has a natural interpretation in terms of the intervals between ordered observations, where allocation of probability mass across intervals is well specified, but the location of that mass within each interval is unconstrained. This formulation gives rise to a straightforward computational resampling method: Bayesian interval sampling. In a comparison with common alternative approaches, it is shown to satisfy strict error bounds even for ill-behaved distributions.
Date Issued
2017-07-10
Date Acceptance
2017-04-05
Citation
Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2017, 375
ISSN
1471-2962
Publisher
Royal Society, The
Journal / Book Title
Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume
375
Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Author(s)
Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.5052v3
Grant Number
PIEF-GA-2010-274387
Subjects
stat.ME
MD Multidisciplinary
General Science & Technology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
20160299