Simulation-Based Maximum Likelihood Parameter Estimation
Description
An estimation method that can use computer simulations to
approximate maximum-likelihood estimates even when the likelihood function can not
be evaluated directly. It can be applied whenever it is feasible to conduct many
simulations, but works best when the data is approximately Poisson distributed.
It was originally designed for demographic inference in evolutionary
biology. It has optional support for conducting coalescent simulation using
the 'coala' package.