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Measuring Overfitting In Nonlinear Models: A New Method And An Application To Health Expenditures

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  • Marcel Bilger
  • Willard G. Manning

Abstract

When fitting an econometric model, it is well known that we pick up part of the idiosyncratic characteristics of the data along with the systematic relationship between dependent and explanatory variables. This phenomenon is known as overfitting and generally occurs when a model is excessively complex relative to the amount of data available. Overfitting is a major threat to regression analysis in terms of both inference and prediction. We start by showing that the Copas measure becomes confounded by shrinkage or expansion arising from in‐sample bias when applied to the untransformed scale of nonlinear models, which is typically the scale of interest when assessing behaviors or analyzing policies. We then propose a new measure of overfitting that is both expressed on the scale of interest and immune to this problem. We also show how to measure the respective contributions of in‐sample bias and overfitting to the overall predictive bias when applying an estimated model to new data. We finally illustrate the properties of our new measure through both a simulation study and a real‐data illustration based on inpatient healthcare expenditure data, which shows that the distinctions can be important. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcel Bilger & Willard G. Manning, 2015. "Measuring Overfitting In Nonlinear Models: A New Method And An Application To Health Expenditures," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 75-85, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:24:y:2015:i:1:p:75-85
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mullahy, John, 1998. "Much ado about two: reconsidering retransformation and the two-part model in health econometrics," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 247-281, June.
    2. John Mullahy, 1998. "Much Ado About Two: Reconsidering Retransformation and the Two-Part Model in Health Economics," NBER Technical Working Papers 0228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Manning, Willard G. & Basu, Anirban & Mullahy, John, 2005. "Generalized modeling approaches to risk adjustment of skewed outcomes data," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 465-488, May.
    4. Manning, Willard G., 1998. "The logged dependent variable, heteroscedasticity, and the retransformation problem," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 283-295, June.
    5. Steven C. Hill & G. Edward Miller, 2010. "Health expenditure estimation and functional form: applications of the generalized gamma and extended estimating equations models," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(5), pages 608-627, May.
    6. Anirban Basu & Bhakti V. Arondekar & Paul J. Rathouz, 2006. "Scale of interest versus scale of estimation: comparing alternative estimators for the incremental costs of a comorbidity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(10), pages 1091-1107, October.
    7. Blough, David K. & Madden, Carolyn W. & Hornbrook, Mark C., 1999. "Modeling risk using generalized linear models," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 153-171, April.
    8. Manning, Willard G. & Mullahy, John, 2001. "Estimating log models: to transform or not to transform?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 461-494, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Yfantopoulos & Athanasios Chantzaras, 2020. "Health-related quality of life and health utilities in insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: the impact of related comorbidities/complications," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(5), pages 729-743, July.
    2. Chakrabarty, Himadri Shekhar & Roy, Rudra Prosad, 2021. "Pandemic uncertainties and fiscal procyclicality: A dynamic non-linear approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 664-671.
    3. Basco, Rodrigo & Hair, Joseph F. & Ringle, Christian M. & Sarstedt, Marko, 2022. "Advancing family business research through modeling nonlinear relationships: Comparing PLS-SEM and multiple regression," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    4. John Mullahy, 2015. "In Memoriam: Willard G. Manning, 1946‐2014," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(3), pages 253-257, March.

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