Inference in binomial AR(1) models

This paper studies inference methods for stationary time series with binomial distributions. Such series describe, for example, the number of rainy days in consecutive weeks. First, we formulate the renewal sequence version of the model that seemingly generates a new class of stationary binomial series. The model is shown to obey an AR(1) recursion in cases where the renewal lifetime has a constant hazard rate past lag one. Explicit asymptotic variances of the parameter estimators in the AR(1) case are derived from conditional least squares methods; likelihood techniques are also considered. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.