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2026 CMC Seminar Series - Stephane Hess

Date
Date
Wednesday 21 January 2026, 14:00
Location
ITS 1.11, University of Leeds
External URL
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/102a0705-bc36-48be-a5aa-5ede60c3c000@bdeaeda8-c81d-45ce-863e-5232a535b7cb

Speaker: Stephane Hess

Title: Gradient assisted model specification

Abstract: Gradients are an integral part of maximum likelihood estimation but most analysts pay them scant attention beyond using a gradient near zero as a sign of convergence. This presentation shows how individual-level gradients can be used to obtain improved utility specifications for models with deterministic heterogeneity, optimise class allocation in latent class structures, and guide decisions on distributions for continuous mixture models.