Assouad, Fano, and Le Cam

Abstract

This note explores the connections and differences between three commonly used methods for constructing minimax lower bounds in nonparametric estimation problems: Le Cam’s, Assouad’s and Fano’s. Two connections are established between Le Cam’s and Assouad’s and between Assouad’s and Fano’s. The three methods are then compared in the context of two estimation problems for a smooth class of densities on [0,1]. The two estimation problems are for the integrated squared first derivatives and for the density function itself.