Multivariate semi-logistic distributions

Three new multivariate semi-logistic distributions (denoted by MSL⁽¹⁾, MSL⁽²⁾, and GMSL respectively) are studied in this paper. They are more general than Gumbel’s (1961) [1] and Arnold’s (1992) [2] multivariate logistic distributions. They may serve as competitors to these commonly used multivariate logistic distributions. Various characterization theorems via geometric maximization and geometric minimization procedures of the three MSL⁽¹⁾, MSL⁽²⁾ and GMSL are proved. The particular multivariate logistic distribution used in the multiple logistic regression model is introduced. Its characterization theorem is also studied. Finally, some further research work on these MSL is also presented. Some probability density plots and contours of the bivariate MSL⁽¹⁾, MSL⁽²⁾ as well as Gumbel’s and Arnold’s bivariate logistic distributions are presented in the Appendix.     

Moment properties of multivariate infinitely divisible laws and criteria for multivariate self-decomposability

Ramachandran (1969) [9, Theorem 8] has shown that for any univariate infinitely divisible distribution and any positive real number α, an absolute moment of order α relative to the distribution exists (as a finite number) if and only if this is so for a certain truncated version of the corresponding Lévy measure. A generalized version of this result in the case of multivariate infinitely divisible distributions, involving the concept of g-moments, was given by Sato (1999) [6, Theorem 25.3]. We extend Ramachandran’s theorem to the multivariate case, keeping in mind the immediate requirements under appropriate assumptions of cumulant studies of the distributions referred to; the format of Sato’s theorem just referred to obviously varies from ours and seems to have a different agenda. Also, appealing to a further criterion based on the Lévy measure, we identify in a certain class of multivariate infinitely divisible distributions the distributions that are self-decomposable; this throws new light on structural aspects of certain multivariate distributions such as the multivariate generalized hyperbolic distributions studied by Barndorff-Nielsen (1977) [12] and others. Various points relevant to the study are also addressed through specific examples.     

Regression models for multivariate ordered responses via the Plackett distribution

We investigate the properties of a class of discrete multivariate distributions whose univariate marginals have ordered categories, all the bivariate marginals, like in the Plackett distribution, have log-odds ratios which do not depend on cut points and all higher-order interactions are constrained to 0. We show that this class of distributions may be interpreted as a discretized version of a multivariate continuous distribution having univariate logistic marginals. Convenient features of this class relative to the class of ordered probit models (the discretized version of the multivariate normal) are highlighted. Relevant properties of this distribution like quadratic log-linear expansion, invariance to collapsing of adjacent categories, properties related to positive dependence, marginalization and conditioning are discussed briefly. When continuous explanatory variables are available, regression models may be fitted to relate the univariate logits (as in a proportional odds model) and the log-odds ratios to covariates.     

Bounds for functions of multivariate risks

Li et al. [Distributions with Fixed Marginals and Related Topics, vol. 28, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, Hayward, CA, 1996, pp. 198-212] provide bounds on the distribution and on the tail for functions of dependent random vectors having fixed multivariate marginals. In this paper, we correct a result stated in the above article and we give improved bounds in the case of the sum of identically distributed random vectors. Moreover, we provide the dependence structures meeting the bounds when the fixed marginals are uniformly distributed on the k-dimensional hypercube. Finally, a definition of a multivariate risk measure is given along with actuarial/financial applications.     

A class of bivariate exponential distributions

We introduce a class of absolutely continuous bivariate exponential distributions, generated from quadratic forms of standard multivariate normal variates.This class is quite flexible and tractable, since it is regulated by two parameters only, derived from the matrices of the quadratic forms: the correlation and the correlation of the squares of marginal components. A simple representation of the whole class is given in terms of 4-dimensional matrices. Integral forms allow evaluating the distribution function and the density function in most of the cases.The class is introduced as a subclass of bivariate distributions with chi-square marginals; bounds for the dimension of the generating normal variable are underlined in the general case.Finally, we sketch the extension to the multivariate case.     

Regularly varying multivariate time series

Extreme values of a stationary, multivariate time series may exhibit dependence across coordinates and over time. The aim of this paper is to offer a new and potentially useful tool called tail process to describe and model such extremes. The key property is the following fact: existence of the tail process is equivalent to multivariate regular variation of finite cuts of the original process. Certain remarkable properties of the tail process are exploited to shed new light on known results on certain point processes of extremes. The theory is shown to be applicable with great ease to stationary solutions of stochastic autoregressive processes with random coefficient matrices, an interesting special case being a recently proposed factor GARCH model. In this class of models, the distribution of the tail process is calculated by a combination of analytical methods and a novel sampling algorithm.     

Limit distribution of the sum and maximum from multivariate Gaussian sequences

In this paper we study the asymptotic joint behavior of the maximum and the partial sum of a multivariate Gaussian sequence. The multivariate maximum is defined to be the coordinatewise maximum. Results extend univariate results of McCormick and Qi. We show that, under regularity conditions, if the maximum has a limiting distribution it is asymptotically independent of the partial sum. We also prove that the maximum of a stationary sequence, when normalized in a special sense which includes subtracting the sample mean, is asymptotically independent of the partial sum (again, under regularity conditions). The limiting distributions are also obtained.     

An asymptotic decomposition for multivariate distribution-free tests of independence

In the multivariate case, the empirical dependence function, defined as the empirical distribution function with reduced uniform margins on the unit interval, can be shown for an i.i.d. sequence to converge weakly in an asymptotic way to a limiting Gaussian process. The main result of this paper is that this limiting process can be canonically separated into a finite set of independent Gaussian processes, enabling one to test the existence of dependence relationships within each subset of coordinates independently (in an asymptotic way) of what occurs in the other subsets. As an application we derive the Karhunen-Loeve expansions of the corresponding processes and give the limiting distribution of the multivariate Cramer-Von Mises test of independence, generalizing results of Blum, Kiefer, Rosenblatt, and Dugué. Other extensions are mentioned, including a generalization of Kendall's τ.     

Dependence orderings for some functionals of multivariate point processes

We study dependence orderings for functionals of k-variate point processes Φ and Ψ. We view the first process as a collection of counting measures, whereas the second as the sequences of interpoint distances. Subsequently, we establish regularity properties of stationary sequences which generalize known results for iid case. The theoretical results are illustrated by many special cases including comparison of multivariate sums and products, comparison of multivariate shock models and queueing systems.     

Multivariate order statistics via multivariate concomitants

Let denote a set of n independent identically distributed k-dimensional absolutely continuous random variables. A general class of complete orderings of such random vectors is supplied by viewing them as concomitants of an auxiliary random variable. The resulting definitions of multivariate order statistics subsume and extend orderings that have been previously proposed such as norm ordering and N-conditional ordering. Analogous concepts of multivariate record values and multivariate generalized order statistics are also described.     

Multivariate maximum entropy identification, transformation, and dependence

This paper shows that multivariate distributions can be characterized as maximum entropy (ME) models based on the well-known general representation of density function of the ME distribution subject to moment constraints. In this approach, the problem of ME characterization simplifies to the problem of representing the multivariate density in the ME form, hence there is no need for case-by-case proofs by calculus of variations or other methods. The main vehicle for this ME characterization approach is the information distinguishability relationship, which extends to the multivariate case. Results are also formulated that encapsulate implications of the multiplication rule of probability and the entropy transformation formula for ME characterization. The dependence structure of multivariate ME distribution in terms of the moments and the support of distribution is studied. The relationships of ME distributions with the exponential family and with bivariate distributions having exponential family conditionals are explored. Applications include new ME characterizations of many bivariate distributions, including some singular distributions.     

An inequality for the multivariate normal distribution

Herman Chernoff used Hermite polynomials to prove an inequality for the normal distribution. This inequality is useful in solving a variation of the classical isoperimetric problem which, in turn, is relevant to data compression in the theory of element identification. As the inequality is of interest in itself, we prove a multivariate generalization of it using a different argument.     

Local asymptotic normality in a stationary model for spatial extremes

De Haan and Pereira (2006) [6] provided models for spatial extremes in the case of stationarity, which depend on just one parameter β>0 measuring tail dependence, and they proposed different estimators for this parameter. We supplement this framework by establishing local asymptotic normality (LAN) of a corresponding point process of exceedances above a high multivariate threshold. Standard arguments from LAN theory then provide the asymptotic minimum variance within the class of regular estimators of β. It turns out that the relative frequency of exceedances is a regular estimator sequence with asymptotic minimum variance, if the underlying observations follow a multivariate extreme value distribution or a multivariate generalized Pareto distribution.     

On Pickands coordinates in arbitrary dimensions

Pickands coordinates were introduced as a crucial tool for the investigation of bivariate extreme value models. We extend their definition to arbitrary dimensions and, thus, we can generalize many known results for bivariate extreme value and generalized Pareto models to higher dimensions and arbitrary extreme value margins.In particular we characterize multivariate generalized Pareto distributions (GPs) and spectral δ-neighborhoods of GPs in terms of best attainable rates of convergence of extremes, which are well-known results in the univariate case. A sufficient univariate condition for a multivariate distribution function (df) to belong to the domain of attraction of an extreme value df is derived. Bounds for the variational distance in peaks-over-threshold models are established, which are based on Pickands coordinates.     

Multivariate CARMA processes

A multivariate Lévy-driven continuous time autoregressive moving average (CARMA) model of order (p,q$p,q$), q<p$q<p$, is introduced. It extends the well-known univariate CARMA and multivariate discrete time ARMA models. We give an explicit construction using a state space representation and a spectral representation of the driving Lévy process. Furthermore, various probabilistic properties of the state space model and the multivariate CARMA process itself are discussed in detail.     

A new discrete distribution with actuarial applications

A new discrete distribution depending on two parameters, α<1,α≠0 and 0<θ<1, is introduced in this paper. The new distribution is unimodal with a zero vertex and overdispersion (mean larger than the variance) and underdispersion (mean lower than the variance) are encountered depending on the values of its parameters. Besides, an equation for the probability density function of the compound version, when the claim severities are discrete is derived. The particular case obtained when α tends to zero is reduced to the geometric distribution. Thus, the geometric distribution can be considered as a limiting case of the new distribution. After reviewing some of its properties, we investigated the problem of parameter estimation. Expected frequencies were calculated for numerous examples, including short and long tailed count data, providing a very satisfactory fit.     

Multivariate skewness and kurtosis measures with an application in ICA

In this paper skewness and kurtosis characteristics of a multivariate p-dimensional distribution are introduced. The skewness measure is defined as a p-vector while the kurtosis is characterized by a p×p-matrix. The introduced notions are extensions of the corresponding measures of Mardia [K.V. Mardia, Measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis with applications, Biometrika 57 (1970) 519–530] and Móri, Rohatgi & Székely [T.F. Móri, V.K. Rohatgi, G.J. Székely, On multivariate skewness and kurtosis, Theory Probab. Appl. 38 (1993) 547–551]. Basic properties of the characteristics are examined and compared with both the above-mentioned results in the literature. Expressions for the measures of skewness and kurtosis are derived for the multivariate Laplace distribution. The kurtosis matrix is used in Independent Component Analysis (ICA) where the solution of an eigenvalue problem of the kurtosis matrix determines the transformation matrix of interest [A. Hyvärinen, J. Karhunen, E. Oja, Independent Component Analysis, Wiley, New York, 2001].     

A multivariate dispersion ordering based on quantiles more widely separated

A multivariate dispersion ordering based on quantiles more widely separated is defined. This new multivariate dispersion ordering is a generalization of the classic univariate version. If we vary the ordering of the components in the multivariate random variable then the comparison could not be possible. We provide a characterization using a multivariate expansion function. The relationship among various multivariate orderings is also considered. Finally, several examples illustrate the method of this paper.     

Sharp estimates for the CDF of quadratic forms of MPE random vectors

In this paper we develop an efficient analytical expansion of the cumulative distribution function (cdf) XBX^t where X=(X₁,…,X_n+1) with n≥2, follows a multivariate power exponential distribution (MPE). Our approach provides a sharp estimate of the cumulative distribution function of a quadratic form of MPE, together with explicit error estimates.     

Multivariate fractionally integrated CARMA processes

A multivariate analogue of the fractionally integrated continuous time autoregressive moving average (FICARMA) process defined by Brockwell [Representations of continuous-time ARMA processes, J. Appl. Probab. 41 (A) (2004) 375-382] is introduced. We show that the multivariate FICARMA process has two kernel representations: as an integral over the fractionally integrated CARMA kernel with respect to a Lévy process and as an integral over the original (not fractionally integrated) CARMA kernel with respect to the corresponding fractional Lévy process (FLP). In order to obtain the latter representation we extend FLPs to the multivariate setting. In particular we give a spectral representation of FLPs and consequently, derive a spectral representation for FICARMA processes. Moreover, various probabilistic properties of the multivariate FICARMA process are discussed. As an example we consider multivariate fractionally integrated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes.