[Math] Is the expectation of log-concave function still log-concave

convex optimizationconvex-analysislogarithmsprobability

I know the expectation preserves the concavity (or convexity), but I was wondering is it still true that the expectation of log-concave function still log-concave; to be more precise,

Let $g(x,Y)$ be log-concave function in $x$ where $Y$ be discrete-time random variable with density $f_Y$. Is it true that
$$
E[g(x,Y)]
$$be still log-concave in $x$?

I noticed there is one result called Prekopa theorem, which states that if $g(x,y): \mathbb{R}^{n+m} \to \mathbb{R}$ be (jointly) log-concave, then
$$
h(x) = \int g(x,y) dy
$$is log-concave. But I'm not sure how to apply properly on the expectation case, since I have to deal with the log-concavity of integrand function $g(x,y) f_Y(y)$ first; i.e.,
$$
E[g(x,Y)] = \int g(x,y) f_Y(y)dy
$$

Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks

Best Answer

Not necessarily. Consider $Y$ such that $Pr[Y=0]=Pr[Y=1]=1/2$. Define $g(x,Y)=e^{Yx}$. Then $g(x,Y)$ is log concave in $x$ because $\log g(x,Y) = Yx$ is linear. But: $$ E[g(x,Y)] = \frac{1 + e^x}{2} $$ and $\log E[g(x,Y)] = \log(1/2) + \log(1 + e^x)$, which is no longer concave.

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