Focuses on theoretical results along with applications All the main topics covering the heart of the subject are introduced to the reader in a systematic fashion Concentration is on the probabilistic and statistical aspects of extreme values Excellent introduction to extreme value theory at the graduate level, requiring only some mathematical maturity

This book is a comprehensive guide to extreme value theory in engineering. Written for the end user with intermediate and advanced statistical knowledge, it covers classical methods as well as recent advances. A collection of 150 examples illustrates the theoretical results and takes the reader from simple applications through complex cases of dependence.

Directly oriented towards real practical application, this book develops both the basic theoretical framework of extreme value models and the statistical inferential techniques for using these models in practice. Intended for statisticians and non-statisticians alike, the theoretical treatment is elementary, with heuristics often replacing detailed mathematical proof. Most aspects of extreme modeling techniques are covered, including historical techniques (still widely used) and contemporary techniques based on point process models. A wide range of worked examples, using genuine datasets, illustrate the various modeling procedures and a concluding chapter provides a brief introduction to a number of more advanced topics, including Bayesian inference and spatial extremes. All the computations are carried out using S-PLUS, and the corresponding datasets and functions are available via the Internet for readers to recreate examples for themselves. An essential reference for students and researchers in statistics and disciplines such as engineering, finance and environmental science, this book will also appeal to practitioners looking for practical help in solving real problems. Stuart Coles is Reader in Statistics at the University of Bristol, UK, having previously lectured at the universities of Nottingham and Lancaster. In 1992 he was the first recipient of the Royal Statistical Society's research prize. He has published widely in the statistical literature, principally in the area of extreme value modeling.

Extreme value theory (EVT) deals with extreme (rare) events, which are sometimes reported as outliers. Certain textbooks encourage readers to remove outliers—in other words, to correct reality if it does not fit the model. Recognizing that any model is only an approximation of reality, statisticians are eager to extract information about unknown distribution making as few assumptions as possible. Extreme Value Methods with Applications to Finance concentrates on modern topics in EVT, such as processes of exceedances, compound Poisson approximation, Poisson cluster approximation, and nonparametric estimation methods. These topics have not been fully focused on in other books on extremes. In addition, the book covers: Extremes in samples of random size Methods of estimating extreme quantiles and tail probabilities Self-normalized sums of random variables Measures of market risk Along with examples from finance and insurance to illustrate the methods, Extreme Value Methods with Applications to Finance includes over 200 exercises, making it useful as a reference book, self-study tool, or comprehensive course text. A systematic background to a rapidly growing branch of modern Probability and Statistics: extreme value theory for stationary sequences of random variables.

This important book provides an up-to-date comprehensive and down-to-earth survey of the theory and practice of extreme value distributions OCo one of the most prominent success stories of modern applied probability and statistics. Originated by E J Gumbel in the early forties as a tool for predicting floods, extreme value distributions evolved during the last 50 years into a coherent theory with applications in practically all fields of human endeavor where maximal or minimal values (the so-called extremes) are of relevance. The book is of usefulness both for a beginner with a limited probabilistic background and to expert in the field. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1.1: Historical Survey (139 KB). Chapter 1.2: The Three Types of Extreme Value Distributions (146 KB). Chapter 1.3: Limiting Distributions and Domain of Attraction (210 KB). Chapter 1.4: Distribution Function and Moments of Type 1 Distribution (160 KB). Chapter 1.5: Order Statistics, Record Values and Characterizations (175 KB). Contents: Univariate Extreme Value Distributions; Generalized Extreme Value Distributions; Multivariate Extreme Value Distributions. Readership: Applied probabilists, applied statisticians, environmental scientists, climatologists, industrial engineers and management experts."

It appears that we live in an age of disasters: the mighty Missis sippi and Missouri flood millions of acres, earthquakes hit Tokyo and California, airplanes crash due to mechanical failure and the seemingly ever increasing wind speeds make the storms more and more frightening. While all these may seem to be unexpected phenomena to the man on the street, they are actually happening according to well defined rules of science known as extreme value theory. We know that records must be broken in the future, so if a flood design is based on the worst case of the past then we are not really prepared against floods. Materials will fail due to fatigue, so if the body of an aircraft looks fine to the naked eye, it might still suddenly fail if the aircraft has been in operation over an extended period of time. Our theory has by now penetrated the so cial sciences, the medical profession, economics and even astronomy. We believe that our field has come of age. In or~er to fully utilize the great progress in the theory of extremes and its ever increasing acceptance in practice, an international conference was organized in which equal weight was given to theory and practice. This book is Volume I of the Proceedings of this conference. In selecting the papers for Volume lour guide was to have authoritative works with a large variety of coverage of both theory and practice.

This book examines the fundamental mathematical and stochastic process techniques needed to study the behavior of extreme values of phenomena based on independent and identically distributed random variables and vectors. It emphasizes the core primacy of three topics necessary for understanding extremes: the analytical theory of regularly varying functions; the probabilistic theory of point processes and random measures; and the link to asymptotic distribution approximations provided by the theory of weak convergence of probability measures in metric spaces.