Yes / Amid much recent interest we discuss a Variance Gamma model for Rugby Union matches (applications to other sports are possible). Our model emerges as a special case of the recently introduced Gamma Difference distribution though there is a rich history of applied work using the Variance Gamma distribution – particularly in finance. Restricting to this special case adds analytical tractability and computational ease. Our three-dimensional model extends classical two-dimensional Poisson models for soccer. Analytical results are obtained for match outcomes, total score and the awarding of bonus points. Model calibration is demonstrated using historical results, bookmakers’ data and tournament simulations.

Stein's method is a powerful technique that can be used to obtain bounds for approximation errors in a weak convergence setting. The method has been used to obtain approximation results for a number of distributions, such as the normal, Poisson and Gamma distributions. A major strength of the method is that it is often relatively straightforward to apply it to problems involving dependent random variables. In this thesis, we consider the adaptation of Stein's method to the class of Variance-Gamma distributions. We obtain a Stein equation for the Variance-Gamma distributions. Uniform bounds for the solution of the Symmetric Variance-Gamma Stein equation and its first four derivatives are given in terms of the supremum norms of derivatives of the test function. New formulas and inequalities for modified Bessel functions are obtained, which allow us to obtain these bounds. We then use local approach couplings to obtain bounds on the error in approximating two asymptotically Variance-Gamma distributed statistics by their limiting distribution. In both cases, we obtain a convergence rate of order n^-1 for suitably smooth test functions. The product of two normal random variables has a Variance-Gamma distribution and this leads us to consider the development of Stein's method to the product of r independent mean-zero normal random variables. An elegant Stein equation is obtained, which motivates a generalisation of the zero bias transformation. This new transformation has a number of interesting properties, which we exploit to prove some limit theorems for statistics that are asymptotically distributed as the product of two central normal distributions. The Variance-Gamma and Product Normal distributions arise as functions of the multivariate normal distribution. We end this thesis by demonstrating how the multivariate normal Stein equation can be used to prove limit theorems for statistics that are asymptotically distributed as a function of the multivariate normal distribution. We establish some sufficient conditions for convergence rates to be of order n^-1 for smooth test functions, and thus faster than the O(n^-1/2) rate that would arise from the Berry-Esseen Theorem. We apply the multivariate normal Stein equation approach to prove Variance-Gamma and Product Normal limit theorems, and we also consider an application to Friedman's X² statistic.

本論文在Li(2000)的Gaussian Copula的背景之下，將資產價值服從常態分配的假設改為服從Variance Gamma分配，利用Copula模型模擬債權群組內各個標的資產的違約時點，並利用蒙地卡羅抽取亂數的方法，取平均之後求得信用連結債券所連結的資產債權組合價值。除此之外，本論文比較假設資產價值服從常態分配、Student t分配和Variance Gamma分配下，計算求得的資產池價值。實證結果顯示，假設服從Variance Gamma分配最接近市場的真實違約資料。這是由於Variance Gamma分配具備Student t分配的厚尾性質，能有效捕捉常態分配缺少的尾端損失機率，並可調整偏態係數和峰態係數，可以求出更接近市場價值的評價結果。最後，在敏感度分析方面，改變影響資產池價值的兩大因子：平均違約回收率和資產間相關係數。結果顯示，當平均違約回收率高於0.7時，相關係數越高的債權群組，其資產池價值亦越高。若平均違約回收率越低且資產間相關係數越高的話，越容易出現一起違約的現象，因此資產池價值會下降。因此投資人在挑選信用連結債券時，應注意所連結的標的資產群組內資產報酬的相關性，最好避免相關性高的資產群組，以免金融海嘯來臨的時候，多個資產同時違約的情形發生。