Some properties of bivariate Gumbel Type A distributions with proportional hazard rates

We call a set of univariate distributions with the same mathematical form but different parameter values a family $\text{J}$. Consider a bivariate Gumbel Type A survival distribution, S₁₂(x₁, x₂), defined in (2.1), for which both marginal distributions, S₁(x₁), S₂(x₂), belong to the same family, $\text{J}$ of distributions. It is proved in this paper that subject to weak conditions, the crude hazard rates, h₁(t) and h₂(t), are proportional if and only if the marginal hazard rates, λ₁(t) and λ₂(t), are proportional (Theorem 1). It is also shown that the survival functions of W = min(X₁, X₂), and of the identified minimum, W_i = X_i, for X_i < X_j, j ≠ i, belong to the same family $\text{J}$ as do S₁(x₁), S₂(x₂) (Corollary 1). Counter-examples of distributions other than Gumbel Type A, for which these properties do not hold, are given. Some applications to the analysis of competing risks, using a family of Gompertz distributions, are discussed.