Quantile regression approach to conditional mode estimation

Abstract

In this paper, we consider estimation of the conditional mode of an outcome variable given regressors. To this end, we propose and analyze a computationally scalable estimator derived from a linear quantile regression model and develop asymptotic distributional theory for the estimator. Specifically, we find that the pointwise limiting distribution is a scale transformation of Chernoff’s distribution despite the presence of regressors. In addition, we consider analytical and subsampling-based confidence intervals for the proposed estimator. We also conduct Monte Carlo simulations to assess the finite sample performance of the proposed estimator together with the analytical and subsampling confidence intervals. Finally, we apply the proposed estimator to predicting the net hourly electrical energy output using Combined Cycle Power Plant Data.