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We analyze the statistical properties of nonparametric regression estimators using covariates which are not directly observable, but have be estimated from data in a preliminary step. These so-called generated covariates appear in numerous applications, including two-stage nonparametric regression, estimation of simultaneous equation models or censored regression models. Yet so far there seems to be no general theory for their impact on the final estimator's statistical properties. Our paper provides such results. We derive a stochastic expansion that characterizes the influence of the generation step on the final estimator, and use it to derive rates of consistency and asymptotic distributions accounting for the presence of generated covariates.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AOS995 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Disease modelling has had considerable policy impact during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and it is increasingly acknowledged that combining multiple models can improve the reliability of outputs. Here we report insights from ten weeks of collaborative short-term forecasting of COVID-19 in Germany and Poland (12 October–19 December 2020). The study period covers the onset of the second wave in both countries, with tightening non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and subsequently a decay (Poland) or plateau and renewed increase (Germany) in reported cases. Thirteen independent teams provided probabilistic real-time forecasts of COVID-19 cases and deaths. These were reported for lead times of one to four weeks, with evaluation focused on one- and two-week horizons, which are less affected by changing NPIs. Heterogeneity between forecasts was considerable both in terms of point predictions and forecast spread. Ensemble forecasts showed good relative performance, in particular in terms of coverage, but did not clearly dominate single-model predictions. The study was preregistered and will be followed up in future phases of the pandemic.