Extreme Value Theory—Application of the Peaks Over Threshold Method and the Generalized Pareto Distribution to Athletics Decathlon and Heptathlon

2021 ◽  
pp. 907-924
Author(s):  
Domingos Silva ◽  
Frederico Caeiro
Author(s):  
Audrene Edwards ◽  
Kumer Das

The study of extremes has attracted the attention of scientists, engineers, actuaries, policy makers, and statisticians for many years. Extreme value theory (EVT) deals with the extreme deviations from the median of probability distributions and is used to study rare but extreme events. EVT’s main results characterize the distribution of the sample maximum or the distribution of values above a given threshold. In this study, EVT has been used to construct a model on the extreme and rare earthquakes that have happened in the United States from 1700 to 2011.The primary goal of fitting such a model is to estimate the amount of losses due to those extreme events and the probabilities of such events. Several diagnostic methods (for example, QQ plot and Mean Excess Plot) have been used to justify that the data set follows generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Three estimation techniques have been employed to estimate parameters. The consistency and reliability of estimated parameters have been observed for different threshold values. The purpose of this study is manifold: first, we investigate whether the data set follows GPD, by using graphical interpretation and hypothesis testing. Second, we estimate GPD parameters using three different estimation techniques. Third, we compare consistency and reliability of estimated parameters for different threshold values. Last, we investigate the bias of estimated parameters using a simulation study. The result is particularly useful because it can be used in many applications (for example, disaster management, engineering design, insurance industry, hydrology, ocean engineering, and traffic management) with a minimal set of assumptions about the true underlying distribution of a data set. KEYWORDS: Extreme Value Theory; QQ Plot; Mean Excess Plot; Mean Residual Plot; Peak Over Threshold; Generalized Pareto Distribution; Maximum Likelihood Method; Method of Moments; Probability-Weighted Moments; Shapiro-Wilk test; Anderson- Darling Test


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T Gomes ◽  
Lígia Henriques-Rodrigues

The International Swimming Federation has developed a points system that allows comparisons of results between different events. Such system is important for several reasons, since it is used as a criterion to rank swimmers in awards and selection procedures of national teams. The points system is based entirely on the world record of the correspondent event. Since it is based on only one observation, this work aims to suggest a new system, based on the probability distribution of the best performances in each event. Using extreme value theory, such distribution, under certain conditions, converges to a generalized Pareto distribution. The new performance index, based on the peaks over threshold methodology, is obtained based on the exceedance probabilities correspondent to the swimmers’ times that exceed a given threshold. We work with 17 officially recognized events in 50 m pool, for each women and men, and considered all-time rankings for all events until 31 December 2016. A study on the adequacy of the proposed generalized Pareto distribution index and a comparison between the performances of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are also conducted.


1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. McNeil

AbstractGood estimates for the tails of loss severity distributions are essential for pricing or positioning high-excess loss layers in reinsurance. We describe parametric curve-fitting methods for modelling extreme historical losses. These methods revolve around the generalized Pareto distribution and are supported by extreme value theory. We summarize relevant theoretical results and provide an extensive example of their application to Danish data on large fire insurance losses.


2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (206) ◽  
pp. 87-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julija Cerovic ◽  
Vesna Karadzic

The concept of Value at Risk(VaR) estimates the maximum loss of a financial position at a given time for a given probability. This paper considers the adequacy of the methods that are the basis of extreme value theory in the Montenegrin emerging market before and during the global financial crisis. In particular, the purpose of the paper is to investigate whether the peaks-over-threshold method outperforms the block maxima method in evaluation of Value at Risk in emerging stock markets such as the Montenegrin market. The daily return of the Montenegrin stock market index MONEX20 is analyzed for the period January 2004 - February 2014. Results of the Kupiec test show that the peaks-over-threshold method is significantly better than the block maxima method, but both methods fail to pass the Christoffersen independence test and joint test due to the lack of accuracy in exception clustering when measuring Value at Risk. Although better, the peaks-over-threshold method still cannot be treated as an accurate VaR model for the Montenegrin frontier stock market.


2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (06) ◽  
pp. 1043-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARLO MARINELLI ◽  
STEFANO D'ADDONA ◽  
SVETLOZAR T. RACHEV

We compare in a backtesting study the performance of univariate models for Value-at-Risk (VaR) and expected shortfall based on stable laws and on extreme value theory (EVT). Analyzing these different approaches, we test whether the sum–stability assumption or the max–stability assumption, that respectively imply α–stable laws and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions, is more suitable for risk management based on VaR and expected shortfall. Our numerical results indicate that α–stable models tend to outperform pure EVT-based methods (especially those obtained by the so-called block maxima method) in the estimation of Value-at-Risk, while a peaks-over-threshold method turns out to be preferable for the estimation of expected shortfall. We also find empirical evidence that some simple semiparametric EVT-based methods perform well in the estimation of VaR.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Walls ◽  
Wei. Zhang

Value-at-risk (VaR) is a measure of the maximum potential change in value of a portfolio of financial assets with a given probability over a given time horizon. VaR has become a standard measure of market risk and a common practice is to compute VaR by assuming that changes in value of the portfolio are conditionally normally distributed. However, assets returns usually come from heavy-tailed distributions, so computing VaR under the assumption of conditional normality can be an important source of error. We illustrate in our application to competitive electric power prices in Alberta, Canada, that VaR estimates based on extreme value theory models, in particular the generalized Pareto distribution are, more accurate than those produced by alternative models such as normality or historical simulation.


Author(s):  
Sameen Naqvi ◽  
Weiyong Ding ◽  
Peng Zhao

Abstract Pareto distribution is an important distribution in extreme value theory. In this paper, we consider parallel systems with Pareto components and study the effect of heterogeneity on skewness of such systems. It is shown that, when the lifetimes of components have different shape parameters, the parallel system with heterogeneous Pareto component lifetimes is more skewed than the system with independent and identically distributed Pareto components. However, for the case when the lifetimes of components have different scale parameters, the result gets reversed in the sense of star ordering. We also establish the relation between star ordering and dispersive ordering by extending the result of Deshpande and Kochar [(1983). Dispersive ordering is the same as tail ordering. Advances in Applied Probability 15(3): 686–687] from support $(0, \infty )$ to general supports $(a, \infty )$ , $a > 0$ . As a consequence, we obtain some new results on dispersion of order statistics from heterogeneous Pareto samples with respect to dispersive ordering.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 4957-4994 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Deidda

Abstract. Previous studies indicate the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) as a suitable distribution function to reliably describe the exceedances of daily rainfall records above a proper optimum threshold, which should be selected as small as possible to retain the largest sample while assuring an acceptable fitting. Such an optimum threshold may differ from site to site, affecting consequently not only the GPD scale parameter, but also the probability of threshold exceedance. Thus a first objective of this paper is to derive some expressions to parameterize a simple threshold-invariant three-parameter distribution function which is able to describe zero and non zero values of rainfall time series by assuring a perfect overlapping with the GPD fitted on the exceedances of any threshold larger than the optimum one. Since the proposed distribution does not depend on the local thresholds adopted for fitting the GPD, it will only reflect the on-site climatic signature and thus appears particularly suitable for hydrological applications and regional analyses. A second objective is to develop and test the Multiple Threshold Method (MTM) to infer the parameters of interest on the exceedances of a wide range of thresholds using again the concept of parameters threshold-invariance. We show the ability of the MTM in fitting historical daily rainfall time series recorded with different resolutions. Finally, we prove the supremacy of the MTM fit against the standard single threshold fit, often adopted for partial duration series, by evaluating and comparing the performances on Monte Carlo samples drawn by GPDs with different shape and scale parameters and different discretizations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang-Dong Zhou ◽  
Ting-Hua Yi ◽  
Bin Chen ◽  
Huan Zhang

Estimating extreme value models with high reliability for thermal gradients is a significant task that must be completed before reasonable thermal loads and possible thermal stress in long-span bridges are evaluated. In this article, a generalized Pareto distribution–based extreme value model combining parameter updating has been developed to describe the statistical characteristics of thermal gradients in a long-span bridge. The procedure of excluding correlation and the approach of selecting a proper threshold are suggested to prepare samples for generalized Pareto distribution estimation. A Bayesian estimation, which has the capability of updating model parameters by fusing prior information and incoming monitoring data, is proposed to fit the generalized Pareto distribution–based model. Furthermore, the Gibbs sampling, which is a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm, is adopted to derive the Bayesian posterior distribution. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the field monitoring data of thermal gradients in the Jiubao Bridge. The extreme value models of thermal gradients for the Jiubao Bridge are established, and the extreme thermal gradients with different return periods are extrapolated. The results indicate that the generalized Pareto distribution–based extreme value model has a strong ability to represent the statistical features of thermal gradients for the Jiubao Bridge, and the Bayesian estimation combining parameter updating provides high-precision generalized Pareto distribution–based models for predicting extreme thermal gradients. The predicted extreme thermal gradients are expected to evaluate and design long-span bridges.


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