Improved prediction limits for a general class of Gaussian models

In this article we consider the problem of prediction for a general class of Gaussian models, which includes, among others, autoregressive moving average time‐series models, linear Gaussian state space models and Gaussian Markov random fields. Using an idea presented in Sjöstedt‐De Luna and Young (2003), in the context of spatial statistics, we discuss a method for obtaining prediction limits for a future random variable of interest, taking into account the uncertainty introduced by estimating the unknown parameters. The proposed prediction limits can be viewed as a modification of the estimative prediction limit, with unconditional, and eventually conditional, coverage error of smaller asymptotic order. The modifying term has a quite simple form and it involves the bias and the mean square error of the plug‐in estimators for the conditional expectation and the conditional variance of the future observation. Applications of the results to Gaussian time‐series models are presented.