8
$\begingroup$

I'm currently doing a self-study of Wasserman's All of Statistics.

Theorem 5.10 states that for $X_1, ..., X_n$ IID with mean $\mu$ and variance $\sigma^2$, we have $\frac{\sqrt{n}(\bar{X}_n - \mu)}{S_n} \xrightarrow{D} N(0,1)$, where $\bar{X}_n = \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n X_i$ and $S^2_n = \frac{1}{n - 1}\sum_{i=1}^n(X_i - \bar{X}_n)^2$. This statement seems to be the same statement as the Central Limit Theorem but with $\sigma$ replaced by $S_n$.

My questions are: is this theorem correct, and how would one prove this? No proof is given and I cannot manage to find this result elsewhere.

I want to emphasize that I'm wondering whether this statement is true as stated and not wondering whether it is useful to approximate $\sigma^2$ with $S^2_n$ for other purposes.

$\endgroup$
2

2 Answers 2

7
$\begingroup$

Yes it is a result of Slutsky's Theorem since $S_n \rightarrow_p \sigma$

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I’ve heard this called the “converging together lemma”. $\endgroup$
    – Dave
    Aug 7, 2022 at 15:57
5
$\begingroup$

You appear to be interested in a quantity like $$ \mathcal{T}=\frac{\sqrt T(\bar{y}-\mu)}{s}, $$ with $s$ the sample standard deviation of $y_t$, $t=1,\ldots,T$.

By the CLT, $\sqrt T(\bar{y}-\mu)\to_d \mathcal{N}(0,\sigma^2)$ when (e.g.) the $y_i$ are iid with mean $\mu$ and variance $\sigma^2$.

By the WLLN, $s^2\to_p\sigma^2$.

By the continuous mapping theorem, $s\to_p\sigma$.

By Slutzky's theorem, $\mathcal{T}\to_d \mathcal{N}(0,1)$.

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting, thanks. Does this rely on the convergence of $s$ to $\sigma$ being faster than the convergence of the sample mean to the mean? Since we kind of rely on $s$ converging to a constant while the sample mean does not. Or in other words, how come we can apply the WLLN to $s^2$ without also applying it to $\bar{y}$? $\endgroup$
    – Ben Farmer
    Sep 6, 2017 at 12:37
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Yes, there is a sense in which we may see it like this, see my edit. Note we apply the CLT to $\sqrt{n}(\bar y-\mu)$, not $\bar y$. A WLLN would apply to the latter, too, with $\bar y\to_p\mu$. Essentially, $\sqrt{n}$ "blows up" the error $\bar y-\mu$ so as to obtain a nongenerate asymptotic distribution. $\endgroup$ Sep 7, 2017 at 6:57

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.