Semi-nonparametric interval-censored mixed proportional hazard models: Identification and consistency results

In this paper I propose estimating distributions on the unit interval semi-nonparametrically using orthonormal Legendre polynomials. This approach will be applied to the interval-censored mixed proportional hazard (ICMPH) model, where the distribution of the unobserved heterogeneity is modeled semi-nonparametrically. Various conditions for the nonparametric identification of the 1CMPH model are derived. I will prove general consistency results for M-estimators of (partly) non-euclidean parameters under weak and easy-to-verify conditions and specialize these results to sieve estimators. Special attention is paid to the case where the support of the covariates is finite.