Jennifer Wadsworth

Accounting for choice of measurement scale in extreme value modeling

Keywords: Extreme Value Reference CIB-REPORT-2010-001 Record created on 2010-01-07, modified on 2017-05-12

Exploiting Structure of Maximum Likelihood Estimators for Extreme Value Threshold Selection

To model the tail of a distribution, one has to define the threshold above or below which an extreme value model produces a suitable fit. Parameter stability plots, whereby one plots maximum likelihood estimates of supposedly threshold-independent parameters against threshold, form one of the main tools for threshold selection by practitioners, principally due to their simplicity. However, one repeated criticism of these plots is their lack of interpretability, with pointwise confidence intervals being strongly dependent across the range of thresholds. In this article, we exploit the independent-increments structure of maximum likelihood estimators to produce complementary plots with greater interpretability, and suggest a simple likelihood-based procedure that allows for automated threshold selection. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Modeling Spatial Processes with Unknown Extremal Dependence Class

ABSTRACT Many environmental processes exhibit weakening spatial dependence as events become more extreme. Well-known limiting models, such as max-stable or generalized Pareto processes, cannot capture this, which can lead to a preference for models that exhibit a property known as asymptotic independence. However, weakening dependence does not automatically imply asymptotic independence, and whether the process is truly asymptotically (in)dependent is usually far from clear. The distinction is key as it can have a large impact upon extrapolation, that is, the estimated probabilities of events more extreme than those observed. In this work, we present a single spatial model that is able to capture both dependence classes in a parsimonious manner, and with a smooth transition between the two cases. The model covers a wide range of possibilities from asymptotic independence through to complete dependence, and permits weakening dependence of extremes even under asymptotic dependence. Censored likelihood-based inference for the implied copula is feasible in moderate dimensions due to closed-form margins. The model is applied to oceanographic datasets with ambiguous true limiting dependence structure. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Multivariate peaks over thresholds models

Multivariate peaks over thresholds modelling based on generalized Pareto distributions has up to now only been used in few and mostly two-dimensional situations. This paper contributes theoretical understanding, models which can respect physical constraints, inference tools, and simulation methods to support routine use, with an aim at higher dimensions. We derive a general point process model for extreme episodes in data, and show how conditioning the distribution of extreme episodes on threshold exceedance gives four basic representations of the family of generalized Pareto distributions. The first representation is constructed on the real scale of the observations. The second one starts with a model on a standard exponential scale which is then transformed to the real scale. The third and fourth representations are reformulations of a spectral representation proposed in Ferreira and de Haan (Bernoulli 20(4), 1717–1737, 2014). Numerically tractable forms of densities and censored densities are found and give tools for flexible parametric likelihood inference. New simulation algorithms, explicit formulas for probabilities and conditional probabilities, and conditions which make the conditional distribution of weighted component sums generalized Pareto are derived.

Multivariate generalized Pareto distributions: Parametrizations, representations, and properties

Multivariate generalized Pareto distributions arise as the limit distributions of exceedances over multivariate thresholds of random vectors in the domain of attraction of a max-stable distribution. These distributions can be parametrized and represented in a number of different ways. Moreover, generalized Pareto distributions enjoy a number of interesting stability properties. An overview of the main features of such distributions is given, expressed compactly in several parametrizations, giving the potential user of these distributions a convenient catalogue of ways to handle and work with generalized Pareto distributions.

Time-Varying Extreme Value Dependence with Application to Leading European Stock Markets

Extremal dependence between international stock markets is of particular interest in todays global financial landscape. However, previous studies have shown this dependence is not necessarily stationary over time. We concern ourselves with modeling extreme value dependence when that dependence is changing over time, or other suitable covariate. Working within a framework of asymptotic dependence, we introduce a regression model for the angular density of a bivariate extreme value distribution that allows us to assess how extremal dependence evolves over a covariate. We apply the proposed model to assess the dynamics governing extremal dependence of some leading European stock markets over the last three decades, and find evidence of an increase in extremal dependence over recent years.

Peaks over thresholds modelling with multivariate generalized Pareto distributions

ABSTRACT When assessing the impact of extreme events, it is often not just a single component, but the combined behavior of several components which is important. Statistical modeling using multivariate generalized Pareto (GP) distributions constitutes the multivariate analogue of univariate peaks over thresholds modeling, which is widely used in finance and engineering. We develop general methods for construction of multivariate GP distributions and use them to create a variety of new statistical models. A censored likelihood procedure is proposed to make inference on these models, together with a threshold selection procedure, goodness-of-fit diagnostics, and a computationally tractable strategy for model selection. The models are fitted to returns of stock prices of four UK-based banks and to rainfall data in the context of landslide risk estimation. Supplementary materials and codes are available online.