Missing variable models are typical benchmarks for new computational techniques in that the ill-posed nature of missing variable models offer a challenging testing ground for these techniques. This was the case for the EM algorithm and the Gibbs sampler, and this is also true for importance...

This introduction to Bayesian statistics presents the main concepts as well as the principal reasons advocated in favour of a Bayesian modelling. We cover the various approaches to prior determination as well as the basis asymptotic arguments in favour of using Bayes estimators. The testing...

This paper deals with some computational aspects in the Bayesian analysis of statistical models with intractable normalizing constants. In the presence of intractable normalizing constants in the likelihood function, traditional MCMC methods cannot be applied. We propose an approach to sample...

While Robert and Rousseau (2010) addressed the foundational aspects of Bayesian analysis, the current chapter details its practical aspects through a review of the computational methods available for approximating Bayesian procedures. Recent innovations like Monte Carlo Markov chain, sequential...

For numerous models, it is impossible to conduct an exact Bayesian inference. There are many cases where the derivation of the posterior distribution leads to intractable calculations (due to the fact that this generally involves intractable integrations). The Bayesian computational literature...

If, in the mid 1980's, one had asked the average statistician about the difficulties of using Bayesian Statistics, his/her most likely answer would have been"Well, there is this problem of selecting a prior distribution and then, even if one agrees on the prior, the whole Bayesian inference is...