An integral transform method for estimating the central mean and central subspaces

The central mean and central subspaces of generalized multiple index model are the main inference targets of sufficient dimension reduction in regression. In this article, we propose an integral transform (ITM) method for estimating these two subspaces. Applying the ITM method, estimates are derived, separately, for two scenarios: (i) No distributional assumptions are imposed on the predictors, and (ii) the predictors are assumed to follow an elliptically contoured distribution. These estimates are shown to be asymptotically normal with the usual root-n convergence rate. The ITM method is different from other existing methods in that it avoids estimation of the unknown link function between the response and the predictors and it does not rely on distributional assumptions of the predictors under scenario (i) mentioned above. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.