Pseudo-Bayesian Classified Mixed Model Prediction

We propose a new classified mixed model prediction (CMMP) procedure, called pseudo-Bayesian CMMP, that uses network information in matching the group index between the training data and new data, whose characteristics of interest one wishes to predict. The current CMMP procedures do not incorporate such information; as a result, the methods are not consistent in terms of matching the group index. Although, as the number of training data groups increases, the current CMMP method can predict the mixed effects of interest consistently, its accuracy is not guaranteed when the number of groups is moderate, as is the case in many potential applications. The proposed pseudo-Bayesian CMMP procedure assumes a flexible working probability model for the group index of the new observation to match the index of a training data group, which may be viewed as a pseudo prior. We show that, given any working model satisfying mild conditions, the pseudo-Bayesian CMMP procedure is consistent and asymptotically optimal both in terms of matching the group index and in terms of predicting the mixed effect of interest associated with the new observations. The theoretical results are fully supported by results of empirical studies, including Monte-Carlo simulations and real-data validation.