On the global and componentwise rates of convergence of the EM algorithm (Q1322882)

For incomplete-data problems in statistics, the EM algorithm is a very popular one for finding maximum-likelihood estimates and posterior modes. It is simple to apply and to implement, and it is stable. Each iteration of EM consists of an expectation step and a maximization step. After recalling that the order of the EM algorithm is generally linear, the authors focus on the rate of convergence for linear iterations. By using the diagonalizability theorem, they describe how and when the componentwise rates differ and their relationships with the global rate. This study is nicely enlightened by an example of a standard contaminated normal model which illustrates that these phenomena are not necessarily pathological and can occur in useful statistical models.