A Hitchhiker's guide to the techniques of adaptive nonlinear models

Adaptive nonlinear models (ANMs) are currently being proposed for use in ac tuarial and financial modeling. The techniques of these models included suc h things as neural networks and genetic algorithms. While there is a genera l awareness of the nature of these ANM techniques, there is often only vagu e familiarity with the details of how these techniques are implemented. Thi s article is intended to help alleviate this situation. Its purpose is to p resent an overview of ANM techniques, which includes an explanation of what they are, how they work, and a description of their key features. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.