In this paper we introduce an approach and algorithms for model mixing in large prediction problems with correlated predictors. We focus on the choice of predictors in linear models, and mix over possible subsets of candidate predictors. Our approach is based on expressing the space of models in terms of an orthogonalization of the design matrix. Advantages are both statistical and computational. Statistically, orthogonalization often leads to a reduction in the number of competing models by eliminating correlations. Computationally, large model spaces cannot be enumerated; recent approaches are based on sampling models with high posterior probability via Markov chains. Based on orthogonalization of the space of candidate predictors, we can approximate the posterior probabilities of models by products of predictor-specific terms. This leads to an importance sampling function for sampling directly from the joint distribution over the model space, without resorting to Markov chains. Comp...

Prediction methods based on mixing over a set of plausible models can help alleviate the sensitivity of inference and decisions to modeling assumptions. One important application area is prediction in linear models. Computing techniques for model mixing in linear models include Markov chain Monte Carlo methods as well as importance sampling. Clyde, DeSimone and Parmigiani (1996) developed an importance sampling strategy based on expressing the space of predictors in terms of an orthogonal basis. This leads both to a better identified problem and to simple approximations to the posterior model probabilities. Such approximations can be used to construct efficient importance samplers. For brevity, we call this strategy orthogonalized model mixing. Two key elements of orthogonalized model mixing are: a) the orthogonalization method and b) the prior probability distributions assigned to the models and the coefficients. In this paper we consider in further detail the specification of these t...