384 research outputs found
Bayesian threshold selection for extremal models using measures of surprise
Statistical extreme value theory is concerned with the use of asymptotically
motivated models to describe the extreme values of a process. A number of
commonly used models are valid for observed data that exceed some high
threshold. However, in practice a suitable threshold is unknown and must be
determined for each analysis. While there are many threshold selection methods
for univariate extremes, there are relatively few that can be applied in the
multivariate setting. In addition, there are only a few Bayesian-based methods,
which are naturally attractive in the modelling of extremes due to data
scarcity. The use of Bayesian measures of surprise to determine suitable
thresholds for extreme value models is proposed. Such measures quantify the
level of support for the proposed extremal model and threshold, without the
need to specify any model alternatives. This approach is easily implemented for
both univariate and multivariate extremes.Comment: To appear in Computational Statistics and Data Analysi
Exploiting structure of maximum likelihood estimators for extreme value threshold selection
In order 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 in order to produce complementary plots with greater interpretability, and a suggest simple likelihood-based procedure which allows for automated threshold selection
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