Initialization for the Normal To Anything approach: Generation of random vectors with specified marginals and correlations

Initialization for the Normal To Anything approach: Generation of random vectors with specified marginals and correlations

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Article ID: iaor20032590
Country: United States
Volume: 13
Issue: 4
Start Page Number: 312
End Page Number: 331
Publication Date: Oct 2001
Journal: INFORMS Journal On Computing
Authors:
Keywords: simulation
Abstract:

We propose a specific method for generating n-dimensional random vectors with given marginal distributions of correlation matrix. The method uses the NORTA (NORmal To Anything) approach, which generates a standard normal random vector and then transforms it into a random vector with specified marginal distributions. During initialization, n(n − 1)/2 nonlinear equations need to be solved to ensure that the generated random vector has the specified correlation structure. To solve these equations, we apply retrospective approximation, a generic stochastic root-finding algorithm, with slight changes. Internal control variates are used to estimate function values. Empirical comparisons show that the control-variate variance-reduction technique improves the algorithm's convergence speed as well as its robustness. Simulation results for a variety of marginal distributions and correlation matrices are also presented.

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