Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-statistics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/1/b/i/solution
Past exam of the statistics course of the University of Oxford 2017 1 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Put , and . The normal distribution model givesand, up to a constant independent of , its log-likelihood function isThe score function and its zero equation areFor , this quadratic equation has exactly one positive root, giving the maximum-likelihood estimatorThe numerator of the score function is positive between its negative and positive roots and negative above its positive root. Thus the likelihood function increases up to and decreases afterwards: this is its unique global maximum on . Also, at both ends. The all-zero observation vector has probability zero; on that exceptional vector and there is no attained maximum.
The second derivative and the relevant moments areTherefore the expected Fisher information isThe support of a probability distribution is the whole real line, independent of the positive statistical parameter. The law of large numbers gives and in probability, so the displayed maximum-likelihood estimator is a consistent estimator. The regular asymptotic normality of a maximum likelihood estimator now yieldsThus the requested leading asymptotic variance on the unscaled estimator's scale is . The normal mean proportional to standard deviation model provides a reusable version of this calculation.
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