Paper 3, Section II, K
What is meant by a convex decision problem? State and prove a theorem to the effect that, in a convex decision problem, there is no point in randomising. [You may use standard terms without defining them.]
The sample space, parameter space and action space are each the two-point set . The observable takes value 1 with probability when the parameter , and with probability when . The loss function is 0 if , otherwise 1 . Describe all the non-randomised decision rules, compute their risk functions, and plot these as points in the unit square. Identify an inadmissible non-randomised decision rule, and a decision rule that dominates it.
Show that the minimax rule has risk function , and is Bayes against a prior distribution that you should specify. What is its Bayes risk? Would a Bayesian with this prior distribution be bound to use the minimax rule?