--- Carlos Madeira <[email protected]> wrote:
> I had a problem writing a user-written function in Stata and was
> wondering if you could give me a help about how to write it. My goal
> is to create a program that generates a variable with cdf values of a
> bivariate-beta function in a similar way that the function i
> beta(a1,b1,x1) would do.
Short answer is that functions are hard coded into Stata, so you can't
write your own function. You can write an -egen- program. But given
your example I suspect you want this to be part of a ml program. In
that case I wouldn't bother and just break the equation up in manageble
parts and create temporary variables. So looking at the equation you
gave us:
> cdf_biv_beta =
> ibeta(a1,b1,x1)(1+w(x1-a1/(a1+b1))(x2-a2/(a2+b2))ibeta(a2,b2,x2) +
> (....)
I would do:
tempvar mean1 mean2 temp
gen double `mean1' = `a1'/(`a1' + `b1')
gen double `mean2' = `a2'/(`a2' + `b2')
gen double `temp' = 1 + `w'*(`x1'-`mean1')*(`x2'-`mean2')
replace `lnf' = ln(ibeta(`a1',`b1',`x1') * /*
*/ `temp' * /*
*/ ibeta(`a2',`b2',`x2') + /*
*/ ... )
I have two additional comments:
1. When writing down the log likelihood it is worth the effort to see
if taking the log simplifies the equation (turns multiplications in
additions, and the like). An example is shown in a short technical text
on http://home.fsw.vu.nl/m.buis/software/betafit.html .
2. the part 1 + `w'*(`x1'-`mean1')*(`x2'-`mean2') worries me from a
numerical point of view. `x1'-`mean1' is the difference between an
observed and expected proportion, so this is usually a small number.
You multiply it with a similarly small number: `x2'-`mean2'. Adding
such a small number to 1 can lead to big rounding errors. The last Mata
matters column in the Stata Journal (volume 6, number 4) by William
Gould was very clear piece on this issue.
Hope this helps,
Maarten
-----------------------------------------
Maarten L. Buis
Department of Social Research Methodology
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Boelelaan 1081
1081 HV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
visiting address:
Buitenveldertselaan 3 (Metropolitan), room Z434
+31 20 5986715
http://home.fsw.vu.nl/m.buis/
-----------------------------------------
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