On default priors for robust Bayesian estimation with divergences

Abstract: This paper presents objective priors for robust Bayesian estimation against outliers based on divergences. The minimum $\gamma$-divergence estimator is well-known to work well estimation against heavy contamination. The robust Bayesian methods by using quasi-posterior distributions based on divergences have been also proposed in recent years. In objective Bayesian framework, the selection of default prior distributions under such quasi-posterior distributions is an important problem. In this study, we provide some properties of reference and moment matching priors under the quasi-posterior distribution based on the $\gamma$-divergence. In particular, we show that the proposed priors are approximately robust under the condition on the contamination distribution without assuming any conditions on the contamination ratio. Some simulation studies are also presented.