Foundations of Info-Metrics
Modeling, Inference, and Imperfect Information
Published on 18. January 2018
Book
Hardback
488 pages
978-0-19-934952-4 (ISBN)
Description
Info-metrics is the science of modeling, reasoning, and drawing inferences under conditions of noisy and insufficient information. It is at the intersection of information theory, statistical inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. It plays an important role in helping make informed decisions even when there is inadequate or incomplete information because it provides a framework to process available information with minimal reliance on assumptions that cannot be validated.
In this pioneering book, Amos Golan, a leader in info-metrics, focuses on unifying information processing, modeling and inference within a single constrained optimization framework. Foundations of Info-Metrics provides an overview of modeling and inference, rather than a problem specific model, and progresses from the simple premise that information is often insufficient to provide a unique answer for decisions we wish to make. Each decision, or solution, is derived from the available input information along with a choice of inferential procedure.
The book contains numerous multidisciplinary applications and case studies, which demonstrate the simplicity and generality of the framework in real world settings. Examples include initial diagnosis at an emergency room, optimal dose decisions, election forecasting, network and information aggregation, weather pattern analyses, portfolio allocation, strategy inference for interacting entities, incorporation of prior information, option pricing, and modeling an interacting social system. Graphical representations illustrate how results can be visualized while exercises and problem sets facilitate extensions. This book is this designed to be accessible for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners across the disciplines.
In this pioneering book, Amos Golan, a leader in info-metrics, focuses on unifying information processing, modeling and inference within a single constrained optimization framework. Foundations of Info-Metrics provides an overview of modeling and inference, rather than a problem specific model, and progresses from the simple premise that information is often insufficient to provide a unique answer for decisions we wish to make. Each decision, or solution, is derived from the available input information along with a choice of inferential procedure.
The book contains numerous multidisciplinary applications and case studies, which demonstrate the simplicity and generality of the framework in real world settings. Examples include initial diagnosis at an emergency room, optimal dose decisions, election forecasting, network and information aggregation, weather pattern analyses, portfolio allocation, strategy inference for interacting entities, incorporation of prior information, option pricing, and modeling an interacting social system. Graphical representations illustrate how results can be visualized while exercises and problem sets facilitate extensions. This book is this designed to be accessible for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners across the disciplines.
Reviews / Votes
This book is a good mixture of theory and practical applications...The topics of the applications are well chosen; they represent contemporary tendencies in statistical science including a broad range of related subject material and interesting topics, from classical to modern. The tools and techniques that are present here can be applied in various disciplines like finance, banking, economics, accounting, marketing, social and health sciences and even to areas like psychology, engineering, and medicine...As such, there are more than good reasons why it should be strongly recommended to potential readers and users. * Journal of the Royal Statistical Society * Amos Golan is an acknowledged leader in the field of info-metrics, or better still, one of its originators. In writing this book, he has painfully put together a package that could turn out to be a trigger event in this new and evolving discipline.The work is an encyclopedic collection of specifics and details, something which surpasses much that is currently available in the marketplace. * Technometrics * "Info-metrics provides a unifying framework for inference and broadens the set of tools available to policy researchers. Foundations of Info-Metrics is an engaging and accessible treatment full of applications that shows the strengths of the approach for situations where traditional methods may struggle or are difficult to apply. More than 20 years since the development of maximum entropy econometrics, this book should attract new audiences to the ideas of info-metrics."-- * Journal of Policy Analysis and Management * It provides all the necessary tools and building blocks for using the info-metrics framework for solving problems, making decisions, and constructing models under incomplete information. The multidisciplinary applications provide a hands-on experience for the reader. That experience can be enhanced via the exercises and problems at the end of each chapter. * Kathy Wolcott, MathSciNet * Each chapter comes with a set of carefully designed exercises and problems. I am also delighted to see a dedicated info-metrics website that provides codes and data for all examples in this book, interactive examples, and additional materials. I have no doubt that this book should be of interest to researchers in many fields of social and natural science and is an ideal choice for an introductory course in information theory. * Ximing Wu, American Journal of Agricultural Economics * With its unique balance of accessibility and interdisciplinary applications, this book seems destined to become the standard reference for researchers wishing to apply info-metric methods. * Econometric Reviews * Amos Golan is an acknowledged leader in the field of info-metrics, or better still, one of its originators. In writing this book, he has painfully put together a package that could turn out to be a trigger event in this new and evolving discipline.The work is an encyclopedic collection of specifics and details, something which surpasses much that is currently available in the marketplace. * Technometrics *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
892 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-934952-4 (9780199349524)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
01/2018
Oxford University Press Inc
€85.70
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
11/2017
OUP eBook
€56.49
Available for download
E-Book
10/2017
OUP eBook
€56.49
Available for download
Person
Amos Golan is a professor of economics and directs the Info-Metrics Institute at American University. He is also an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a Senior Associate at Pembroke College, Oxford. His research is primarily in the interdisciplinary field of info-metrics - the science and practice of information processing, modeling, inference, and problem solving with insufficient information. He has published in economics, econometrics, statistics, mathematics, physics and philosophy journals. His books include Maximum Entropy Econometrics: Robust Estimation with Limited Data (coauthored with Judge and Miller) and Information and Entropy Econometrics - A Review and Synthesis.
Content
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Rational Inference: A Constrained Optimization Framework
Chapter 3 - The Metrics of Info-Metrics
Chapter 4 - Entropy Maximization
Chapter 5 - Inference in The Real World
Chapter 6 - Advanced Inference in The Real World
Chapter 7: Efficiency, Sufficiency, and Optimality
Chapter 8 - Prior Information
Chapter 9 - A Complete Info-Metrics Framework
Chapter 10 - Modeling and Theories
Chapter 11 - Causal Inference via Constraint Satisfaction
Chapter 12 - Info-Metrics and Statistical Inference: Discrete Problems
Chapter 13 - Info-Metrics and Statistical Inference: Continuous Problems
Chapter 14 - New Applications Across Disciplines
Epilogue
Appendices
List of Symbols
References
Index
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Rational Inference: A Constrained Optimization Framework
Chapter 3 - The Metrics of Info-Metrics
Chapter 4 - Entropy Maximization
Chapter 5 - Inference in The Real World
Chapter 6 - Advanced Inference in The Real World
Chapter 7: Efficiency, Sufficiency, and Optimality
Chapter 8 - Prior Information
Chapter 9 - A Complete Info-Metrics Framework
Chapter 10 - Modeling and Theories
Chapter 11 - Causal Inference via Constraint Satisfaction
Chapter 12 - Info-Metrics and Statistical Inference: Discrete Problems
Chapter 13 - Info-Metrics and Statistical Inference: Continuous Problems
Chapter 14 - New Applications Across Disciplines
Epilogue
Appendices
List of Symbols
References
Index