Comparison of Nonparametric Function Estimation Methods for Discontinuous Regression Functions

There are two main approaches for estimating the discontinuous regression function nonparametrically. One is the direct approach, the other is the indirect approach. The major goal of the two approaches are different. The direct approach focuses on the overall good estimation of the regression function itself, whereas the indirect approach focuses on the good estimation of jump locations. Apparently, the two approaches are quite different in nature. Gijbels et al. (2007) argue that the comparison of two approaches does not make much sense and that it is even difficult to choose an appropriate criterion for comparisons. However, it is obvious that the indirect approach also has the regression curve estimate as the subsidiary result. Therefore it is necessary to verify the appropriateness of the indirect approach as the estimator of the discontinuous regression function itself. Park (2009a) compared the performance of two approaches through a simulation study. In this paper, we consider a more general case and draw some useful conclusions.