Likelihood Inference Based on Left Truncated and Right Censored Data from a Gamma Distribution

The gamma distribution is used as a lifetime distribution widely in reliability analysis. Lifetime data are often left truncated, and right censored. The EM algorithm is developed here for the estimation of the scale and shape parameters of the gamma distribution based on left truncated and right censored data. The Newton-Raphson method is also used for the same purpose, and then these two methods of estimation are compared through an extensive Monte Carlo simulation study. The asymptotic variance-covariance matrix of the MLEs under the EM framework is obtained by using the missing information principle (Louis, 1982). Then, the asymptotic confidence intervals for the parameters are constructed. The confidence intervals based on the EM algorithm and the Newton-Raphson method are then compared empirically in terms of coverage probabilities. Finally, all the methods of inference discussed here are illustrated through a numerical example.