Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-probability-statistics-and-options-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/s/1/a/solution

Assume the necessary support condition for importance sampling, ; the source's density assumptions alone do not ensure it. Put and . The importance sampling estimator is
Integration under gives , proving unbiasedness. Independence gives
This variance is finite precisely when the first integral is finite. The assumption ensures target square integrability, but need not ensure square integrability after importance reweighting; the variance can be infinite.

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