  We introduce a novel class of labeled directed acyclic graph (LDAG) models
for finite sets of discrete variables. LDAGs generalize earlier proposals for
allowing local structures in the conditional probability distribution of a
node, such that unrestricted label sets determine which edges can be deleted
from the underlying directed acyclic graph (DAG) for a given context. Several
properties of these models are derived, including a generalization of the
concept of Markov equivalence classes. Efficient Bayesian learning of LDAGs is
enabled by introducing an LDAG-based factorization of the Dirichlet prior for
the model parameters, such that the marginal likelihood can be calculated
analytically. In addition, we develop a novel prior distribution for the model
structures that can appropriately penalize a model for its labeling complexity.
A non-reversible Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm combined with a greedy hill
climbing approach is used for illustrating the useful properties of LDAG models
for both real and synthetic data sets.
