This paper focuses on finding starting-values for the estimation of Vector STAR models. Based on a Monte Carlo study, different procedures are evaluated. Their performance is assessed with respect to model fit and computational effort. I employ (i) grid search algorithms and (ii) heuristic...

In this paper the genetic algorithm is described, applications in the field of statistics are indicated and it is applied to the estimation of the parameters of a Johnson-type distribution. The convergence behaviour is analyzed with respect to the mutation probability, the kind of mutations and...