In this paper, the authors address the problem of the minimax estimator of linear combinations of stochastic regression coefficients and parameters in the general normal linear model with random effects. Under a quadratic loss function, the minimax property of linear estimators is investigated. In the class of all estimators, the minimax estimator of estimable functions, which is unique with probability 1, is obtained under a multivariate normal distribution.
For the mixed effects models with balanced data, a new ordering of design matrices of random effects is defined, and then a simple formula of the spectral decomposition of covariance matrix is obtained. To compare with the two methods in literature,the decomposition can not only give the actual number of all distinct eigenvalues and their expression, but also show clearly the relationship between the design matrices of random effects and the decomposition. These results can be applied to the problems for testifying the analysis of the variance estimate being a minimum variance unbiased under all random effects models and some mixed effects models with balanced data, for finding the explicit solution of maximum likelihood equations for the general mixed effects model and for showing the relationship between the spectral decomposition estimate and the analysis of variance estimate.
