Contingency Table Analysis and Inference via Double Index Measures

In this work, we focus on a general family of measures of divergence for estimation and testing with emphasis on conditional independence in cross tabulations. For this purpose, a restricted minimum divergence estimator is used for the estimation of parameters under constraints and a new double index (dual) divergence test statistic is introduced and thoroughly examined. The associated asymptotic theory is provided and the advantages and practical implications are explored via simulation studies.