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A nonparametric visual test of mixed hazard models

Spreeuw, Jaap,Perch Nielsen, Jens,Fiig Jarner, Søren

Abstract

We consider mixed hazard models and introduce a new visual inspection technique capable of detecting the credibility of our model assumptions. Our technique is based on a transformed data approach, where the density of the transformed data should be close to the uniform distribution when our model assumptions are correct. To estimate the density on the transformed axis we take advantage of a recently defined local linear density estimator based on filtered data. We apply the method to national mortality data and show that it is capable of detecting signs of heterogeneity even in small data sets with substantial variability in observed death rates.

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S a is ics & Ope a ions Resea ch T ansac ions SORT 37 (2) July-Decembe 2013, 153-174 S a is ics & Ope a ions Resea ch T ansac ions c Ins i u d’Es ad´ ıs ica de Ca alunya [email p o ec ed] ISSN: 1696-2281 eISSN: 2013-8830 www.idesca .ca /so / A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models Jaap Sp eeuw1, Jens Pe ch Nielsen2and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 3 Abs ac We conside mixed haza d models and in oduce a new isual inspec ion echnique capable o de ec ing he c edibili y o ou model assump ions. Ou echnique is based on a ans o med da a app oach, whe e he densi y o he ans o med da a should be close o he uni o m dis ibu ion when ou model assump ions a e co ec . To es ima e he densi y on he ans o med axis we ake ad an age o a ecen ly de ined local linea densi y es ima o based on il e ed da a. We apply he me hod o na ional mo ali y da a and show ha i is capable o de ec ing signs o he e ogenei y e en in small da a se s wi h subs an ial a iabili y in obse ed dea h a es. MSC: 62F10, 62N01, 62N02, 62P05. Keywo ds: Mo ali y da a, ail y models, isual inspec ion. 1. In oduc ion The e is an inc easing use o mo ali y models o answe a numbe o pension ela ed ques ions. Mo ali y ables and hei es ima ion ha e always been o impo ance while calcula ing app op ia e p ices o isk p oduc s depending on indi iduals’ su i al. Mo e ecen ly, mo ali y models a e being used in mo e complex models assessing he alue o inancial p oduc s inco po a ing su i al in a a ie y o ways. Financial use s o mo ali y models a e he e o e no only ac ua ies nowadays, bu also in es o s looking o oppo uni ies in su i al bonds and o he packages o su i al isks. Di e en pu poses o mo ali y models lead o di e en measu es o quali y. 1Facul y o Ac ua ial Science and Insu ance, Cass Business School, Ci y Uni e si y London, 106 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, UK. E-mail: j.sp eeuw@ci y.ac.uk 2Facul y o Ac ua ial Science and Insu ance, Cass Business School, Ci y Uni e si y London, 106 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, UK. 3Danish Labou Ma ke Supplemen a y Pension Fund, Kongens Vænge 8, 3400 Hille ød, Denma k. Recei ed: Oc obe 2012 Accep ed: July 2013 154 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models In his pape we de elop a isualiza ion echnique ha seems use ul o he indi idual assessmen o he quali y o a mo ali y model. One applica ion we a e hinking o is o ecas ing o mo ali ies ha is a basic building block o he inancial p icing o su i al, bu also a use ul ool in asse liabili y managemen o pension po olios. Typically, ela i ely simple pa ame ic mo ali y models including calenda e ec s a e used as s a ing poin o mo ali y o ecas s. The calenda e ec is he explici ool o he o ecas and is o en isola ed and es ima ed h ough s anda d ime se ies me hodology. A pe ec his o ical i o he pas is he e o e no always wha he mo ali y modelle is looking o . O en i is mo e impo an o ha e an o e all good i , wi hou oo sys ema ic de ia ions gi ing eliable and meaning ul o ecas s. These la e objec i es a e no easy o gene alize o some quan i a i e model ha can be es ed. O en simple mo ali y models a e ejec ed, simply because mo ali y da a o en is na ionwide and su icien ly abundan o in o m ela i ely complex unde lying pa ame ic s uc u es. The e o e, a es ejec ing ou simple model is o en no wha we wan . We do know ha ou simple model is no accu a e, we do no wan an excessi e i , wha we wan is a good, in ui i e and eliable o ecas . When modelling mo ali y o a popula ion, he e is a a ie y o po en ially sui able li e ime da a models a ailable. Po en ial models di e in le els o complexi y and hey y o cap u e di e en ea u es o da a. Speci ic pa ame ic li e ables combined wi h ime se ies o ecas s a e omnip esen in he ac ua ial and demog aphic li e a u e. The li e a u e abou pa ame ic mo ali y p ojec ion has been de eloping apidly in he las ew yea s. Recen e iews o mains eam mo ali y o ecas ing models can be ound in Cai ns e al. (2009), Cai ns e al. (2011), Dowd e al. (2010a,b) and Habe man and Renshaw (2011). Cai ns e al. (2009) compa e eigh models on he basis o se e al desi able ex pos quali a i e p ope ies (like model pa simony, anspa ency, possibili y o gene a e sample pa hs, p esence (o absence) o coho e ec s and abili y o achie e a non i ial co ela ion s uc u e) and quan i a i e c i e ia (consis ency wi h his o ical da a and obus ness o pa ame e es ima es). Six o hese models a e subjec o subsequen in es iga ion by Dowd e al. (2010a,b) and Cai ns e al. (2011). These include he o iginal Lee-Ca e model (Lee and Ca e , 1992), he basic age-pe iod-coho model by Renshaw and Habe man (2006), an al e na i e age-pe iod-coho model by Cu ie (2006), he o iginal Cai ns-Blake-Dowd model as launched in Cai ns e al. (2006), and wo ex ensions he eo . The six models a e he subjec o o mal goodness-o - i es s in Dowd e al. (2010a) and back es ing in Dowd e al. (2010b). Cai ns e al. (2011) judges hese models on he basis o ex an e quali a i e aspec s like biological easonableness, plausibili y o o ecas le els o unce ain y in p ojec ions a se e al ages, and obus ness o o ecas s. In all hese pape s, he mo ali y da a applied was con ined o hose o indi iduals aged 60 o abo e. Habe man and Renshaw (2011), concen a ing on he key ac o s o li e expec ancy and annui y alues, i s conduc a de ailed compa ison o he se e al models a pensione ages. Apa om he models in he abo e pape s, hey also conside special cases o he Renshaw and Habe man (2006) model in hei s udy. La e on, hey ex end he age ange and in ol e he model by Pla (2009) and se e al a ian s he eo . Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 155 The s abili y o he o ecas depends c ucially on he choice o he pa ame ic o m. Gene ally, a complex model wi h many pa ame e s is no a good choice e en hough such models migh be selec ed om classical ma hema ical s a is ical model selec ion designed o in-sample p edic ion. Models wi h many pa ame e s gene ally i da a be e han models wi h ewe pa ame e s. On he o he hand, a la ge numbe o pa ame e s a e ha de o o ecas han ewe pa ame e s. Fo ecas ing unce ain y inc eases d ama ically wi h he numbe o pa ame e s. Thus, o ob ain eliable o ecas s we wan models which desc ibe he key ea u es o da a wi h as ew pa ame e s as possible. The pu pose o his pape is o in oduce a isual diagnos ic ool which can be used o guide us when choosing a pa ame ic model. A good pa ame ic model is a simple model wi hou ob ious sys ema ic e o s. Tha model could be chosen by he well in o med s a is ician wo king wi h he pa icula mo ali y o ecas applica ion in mind. Ou isual diagnos ic ool will be jus one help ul ool in he o e all ma hema ical s a is ical oolbox. Ou me hod is inspi ed om ecen de elopmen s in ex eme alue es ima ion, whe e ans o ma ions o da a gi e isual in o ma ion on he quali y o he dis ibu ional i in he ail. This ecen me hodology has ound i s way in o insu ance p icing and also he ela ed ield o ope a ional isk. Fo a comp ehensi e o e iew o his new ans o ma ion me hodology in he la e con ex , see Bolanc´ e e al. (2012a). The ans o ma ion based me hod can o example compa e he pe o mance o se e al candida e models o a da a se a hand. Assume we we e old by an o acle wha he exac ue dis ibu ion is, hen we would ans o m ou da a using his o acle in o ma ion such ha ou ans o med da a would exac ly o igina e om a uni o m dis ibu ion. Now we do no ha e access o any o acles. Howe e , i we ake some es ima ed pa ame ically i ed su i al dis ibu ion as de ining ou ans o ma ion, hen any de ec able de iance on he ans o med scale om he uni o m dis ibu ion implies de iances o he pa ame ic dis ibu ion used in he ans o ma ion s ep om he unde lying ue dis ibu ion. Ou me hodology uses a nonpa ame ic smoo h ke nel es ima o on he ans o med scale. One di icul y we mee he e is ha ou da a is classical su i al da a ha is no independen iden ically dis ibu ed. We he e o e use a ecen local linea ke nel densi y es ima o – speci ically he one o Nielsen e al. (2009) – ha is adjus ed o he unca ion and censo ing pa e n we mee in ou da a. Compa ison be ween di e en unde lying sugges ed pa ame ic models a e ca ied ou by i s es ima ing hese pa ame ic models and hen o in es iga e h ough isual inspec ion, whe he he densi y o he ans o med da a indeed looks uni o m. I he unde lying pa ame ic model unde in es iga ion would be ue, he es ima ed densi y should be close o one o e he uni in e al. The e o e di e en unde lying pa a- me ic models can be isualized and compa ed on he ans o med scale. In p inciple, he densi ies could also be es ima ed and compa ed on he o iginal scale. Howe e , he e a e se e al isual and es ima ional ad an ages o wo king on he ans o med scale. One o hese is ha ou me hod makes maximal use o spa se and ola ile da a and is hus pa icula ly well sui ed o explo e how po en ial models desc ibe he mo ali y a ad- 156 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models anced ages whe e exposu e is in a iably limi ed. We es ou me hod using da a om na ions o di e en size: USA, Uni ed Kingdom, Denma k and Iceland. Al hough he main ocus o ou pape is o model human mo ali y, i is wo h- while men ioning ha ou me hodology is applicable o any p obabili y densi y model, whe he i conce ns human su i al o no . 1.1. Mixed haza d models F ail y heo y o e s a possible explana ion o he p esence o an old-age mo ali y pla eau. Acco ding o his heo y popula ions a e he e ogeneous wi h some people being mo e ail, i.e. ha ing a highe haza d a e, han o he people. Since pe sons wi h high haza d a es end o die soone han pe sons wi h low haza d a es old age g oups will be domina ed by low ail y pe sons and his e ec educes he a e o inc ease a he popula ion le el. F ail y models we e in oduced in he demog aphic li e a u e by Vaupel e al. (1979). In a mul iplica i e ail y model, an indi idual’s haza d a e consis s o wo pa s, namely a ce ain s anda d in ensi y and a ce ain nonnega i e andom a iable, he ail y, ac ing mul iplica i ely on he s anda d in ensi y. A Gompe z o Makeham speci ica ion is usually aken o he s anda d in ensi y, al hough some imes a Weibull model can be seen. F ail y is usually assumed o ollow a Gamma dis ibu ion, which is known o be ma hema ically e y ac able. A ew publica ions abou ail y modelling appea ed in he ac ua ial li e a u e. Wang and B own (1998) use he Gompe z-Gamma o Pe ks model o g adua e mo ali y imp o emen ac o s in a Socie y o Ac ua ies’ Li e Table. Bu and Habe man (2004) employ Gene alized Linea Models o g adua e mo ali y o insu ed li es. They conside h ee mix u e models, namely i) Pe ks; ii) modi ied Pe ks, and iii) Gompe z-In e se Gaussian. The au ho s conclude ha he Pe ks model i s he da a bes . An o e iew o he e ogenei y models in li e insu ance is gi en in Oli ie i (2006), while Jones (1998) de elops a mul iple s a e model o measu e he impac o ail y on he p opensi y o lapse a policy. Finally, Li e al. (2009) ex end he Lee-Ca e model by allowing o unobse ed he e ogenei y wi hin a cell, de e mined by age and ime. In his pape we illus a e ou me hodology in he one dimensional case. Mos o ecas ing models ope a e wi h a mul iplica i e ela ionship be ween age e ec and ime e ec . To isualize he i o he age e ec , one would hen ha e o di ide ou he es ima ed ime e ec and ice e sa o isualize he ime e ec only. We a e happy o say ha ou pape – di used in p elimina y e sions – al eady has inspi ed a numbe o o he wo ks in ma hema ical and compu a ional s a is ics. I has o example been ci ed in he h ee ecen pape s G´ amiz-P´ e ez e al. (2013a,b,c). Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 157 1.2. Ou line The se -up o his pape is as ollows. In Sec ion 2 we p esen he isual inspec ion echnique in de ail. Bo h he con inuous- ime amewo k wi h ans o med coun ing p ocesses and he implemen a ion wi h disc e e da a is discussed. Sec ion 3 discusses ail y models in gene al and in oduces he class o models we will be using. Sec ion 4 p esen s he nume ical applica ion. Fo ou coun ies a ying signi ican ly in size (Uni ed S a es, Uni ed Kingdom, Denma k and Iceland), one da a se pe coun y ( emale pe iod 2006 om he Human Mo ali y Da abase) and h ee di e en ail y speci ica ions, namely Gamma, In e se Gaussian, and degene a e (no ail y), we show he es ima es as well as he isual inspec ion echnique. In pa icula , we gi e a ho ough analysis o he mo ali y a ad anced ages ha can be ex ac ed om he con inuous g aphs. Sec ion 5 se s ou a conclusion. 2. Visual inspec ion echnique 2.1. Sampling scheme o he su i al da a Conside a da a se wi h mo ali y s a is ics o nli es. Le o each o hese nindi iduals Yibe an exposu e p ocess wi h alue one when he i’ h indi idual is ali e and unde obse a ion and le Nibe a coun ing p ocess aking he alue one i he i’ h indi idual has died while unde obse a ion. Bo h Yiand Nia e unc ions o he age x. Fo mally, we assume ha Niis a one-dimensional coun ing p ocess wi h espec o an inc easing igh con inuous comple e il a ion Fx,x∈R+,i.e. one ha obeys les condi ions habi uelles, see Ande sen e al. (1993, p. 60). We model he in ensi y as λc i(x) = µθ(x)Yi(x), whe e θbelongs o he pa ame e space Θo he pa ame e s de e mining he exac mo ali y and ail y. The es ima o b θo θis de i ed om minimizing he log likelihood o Bo gan (1984): l(θ) = n ∑ i=1Zlog{µθ(x)}dNi(x)− n ∑ i=1Zµθ(x)Yi(x)dx, ha is maximized o e he pa ame e space Θ. 2.2. Visual inspec ion by ans o ma ions Assume ha some o acle has gi en us he ue unde lying c.d. . Fθ. Then conside he ans o med coun ing p ocesses Ni=Ni◦F−1 θde ined on [0,1].I ou o acle eally had 158 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models old us he u h, hen Niwould ha e s ochas ic in ensi y λi(y) = α(y)Yi(y), whe e Yi(y) = YiF−1 θ(y)wi h α(y) = 1/(1−y)co esponding o he haza d o he uni o m dis ibu ion wi h densi y (y) = α(y)expZy 0−α(s)ds=1, o y∈[0,1]. Ano he mo e s a is ical e m o o acle in o ma ion is p io in o ma ion. I is ha ype o in o ma ion ha is ex e nal o he da a se a hand. In ou applica ion below ou p io in o ma ion will always be some pa ame ic speci ica ion o he model and ou o acle candida e o he ue c.d. will be Fb θ,whe e b θis he es ima ed pa ame e in he speci ied pa ame ic model. I Fb θ eally is a good desc ip ion o he ue c.d. . F, hen ou da a should be uni o mly dis ibu ed a e a ans o ma ion by Fb θ. To be able o inspec he c edibili y o ou o acle in o ma ion o p io in o ma ion o pa ame ic assump ions, we es ima e he densi y based on he il e ed su i al da a N1,Y1,...,Nn,Ynon [0,1]and see whe he i looks la . This densi y es ima o should ha e good bounda y co ec ion because i is de ined on he ans o med axis [0,1].We sugges o use he na u al weigh ed local linea densi y es ima o o Nielsen e al. (2009): b (y) = n ∑ i=1ZKy,b(y−s)Yi(s)b S(s)dNi(s), whe e Ky,b(y−s) = a2(y)−a1(y)(y−s) a0(y)a2(y)−{a1(y)}2Kb(y−s), wi h Kb(y−s) = 1 bK(y−s b),(1) and aj(y) = n ∑ i=1ZKb(y−s)(y−s)jYi(s)ds, Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 159 and b S(s) = ∏ ≤sn1−db Λ( )o, being he Kaplan-Meie es ima e o he su i al unc ion, wi h b Λ(s) = n ∑ i=1 s Z0nY(n)( )o−1 dNi( ), whe e Y(n)( ) = ∑n i=1Yi(s). 2.3. Implemen ing wi h disc e e da a In mos eal li e applica ions we only ha e disc e ized e sions o he s ochas ic p ocesses Yiand Nia ailable. Fi s we need o de ine he ele an disc e ized ime poin s H1,...,HKand he co esponding di e ences hk=Hk−Hk−1 o k∈{1,...,K}, wi h H0=0. We de ine HK=in  ;Fb θ( ) = 1 o any plausible su i al unc ion Fθ. Disc e ized da a a e o en de ined as occu ences and exposu es. Le espec i ely Ok= n ∑ i=1ZHk Hk−1 dNi(x) and Ek= n ∑ i=1ZHk Hk−1 Yi(x)dx. Now assume ha we only obse e hese disc e e occu ences – he Ok’s – and expo- su es – he Ek’s. Then a na u al app oxima ion o he log likelihood unc ion l(θ)abo e o ou disc e e obse a ions would be ld(θ) = ∑ k{logµθ(H∗ k)}Ok−∑ k µθ(H∗ k)Ek, whe e H∗ k= (Hk−1+Hk)/2 . Now conside disc e ized ime poin s on he axis ans o med by Fb θ.Le Hk= F∗ b θ(Hk).hk=Hk−Hk−1and H∗ k=Hk−1+Hk/2 o k∈{1,...,K}.No e ha HK=1. Also no e ha o en he disc e e ime poin s a e equidis an be o e he ime ans o ma ion bu no he ea e . 160 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models On he ans o med axis wi h ime, he se ies H∗ 1,...,H∗ Kis ans o med in o H∗ 1,...,H∗ K. We will ha e occu ences Ok=Ok and exposu es Ek=Ek∗hk/hk. Assume ha we we e gi en he ue c.d. . wi h e y la ge isk exposu es Ek. Then on he o iginal axis Ok∼µb θ(H∗ k)Ekhkwhile on he ans o med axis Ok=Ok∼αb θH∗ kEkhk. I he model we e he ue one, he haza d a es OkEkon he ans o med axis would be equal o 11−H∗ k, and hence he densi y unc ions would be cons an a 1. The local linea densi y es ima o on he ans o med axis will in he disc e e case be de ined as b d(y) = ∑ k Kd,y,b(y−H∗ k)b S d(H∗ k)Ok,(2) whe e Kd,y,b(y−s) = a2,d(y)−a1,d(y)(y−s) a0,d(y)a2,d(y)−{a1,d(y)}2Kb(y−s), aj,d(y) = K ∑ k=1 Kb(y−H∗ k)(y−H∗ k)jEk and b S d(H∗ k) = 0.5nb S d(Hk−1)+ b S d(Hk)o=0.5"exp(− k−1 ∑ i=1 hi Oi Ei)+exp(− k ∑ i=1 hi Oi Ei)#. The choice o he bandwid h bdepends on he a ailabili y o da a. La ge coun ies ha e a la ge isk exposu e; hen mos o he de ia ion be ween he densi y es ima e and 1 can be a ibu ed o model unce ain y. In such cases, no o ha dly any smoo hing is equi ed and bcan be small. Fo no so densely popula ed coun ies wi h small isk exposu e, on he o he hand, p ope smoo hing – wi h a la ge bandwid h – is needed o compensa e o pa ame e unce ain y. Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 161 3. Mixed haza d models In an indi idual ail y model he indi idual e ec o a li e’s mo ali y ac s mul iplica- i ely. Assume ha a coho consis s o nindi iduals. Then o he i h pe son o he coho , he indi idual e ec is ep esen ed by he andom a iable Ziand he condi ional o ce o mo ali y a age x, gi en Zi=zi, is gi en by µ(x,zi) = ziµ(x),i∈{1,...,n}, wi h µ(x)deno ing he s anda d o ce o mo ali y a age x– which is he o ce o mo ali y o a li e wi h ail y le el 1 – and all Ziindependen and iden ically dis ibu ed, wi h a mean equal o 1. In his pape we will assume ha he indi idual haza d is o he o m µ(x) = exp(a0+a1x+a2x2).(3) In he no a ion o Fo a e al. (1988) his model is labelled GM(0,3). No e ha he special case a2=0 leads o he Gompe z model (GM(0,2)). The s uc u e in (3) o ms he basis o na ional and in e na ional mo ali y modelling in Ja ne and K yge (2011). We ha e dµ(x)/dx =µ(x)(a1+2a2x). I is easonable o assume ha mo ali y is inc easing as a unc ion o age. This would imply a1≥0 and a2≥0. Nonnega i e es ima es o a1and a2a e also ob ained in Ja ne and K yge (2011). The ela i e change o mo ali y as a unc ion o age x– de ined in Ho iuchi and Coale (1990) as k(x) = dlnµ(x)dx – is a linea unc ion o age: k(x) = a1+2a2x. The coho mo ali y a age xis gi en as µθ(x) = E[Z|x]·µ(x), whe e E[Z|x] deno es he mean ail y o li es su i ing o age x. Le LZdeno e he Laplace ans o m o ail y a bi h, i.e. LZ(s) = E[exp(−sZ)]. I can hen be shown, see e.g. Hougaa d (1984), ha E[Z|x] = −L′ Z[M(x)] LZ[M(x)] wi h M(x) = x Z0 µ(s)ds. Hence he coho mo ali y can be easily calcula ed o all ail y speci ica ions wi h known Laplace ans o m. In he li e a u e, he Gamma dis ibu ion has been by a he mos popula speci ica ion in he ail y model. This is pa ly due o i s ma hema - ical ac abili y. Abb ing and Van den Be g (2007) show ha , unde mild condi ions 168 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.96 0.98 1.00 1.02 1.04 T ans o medaxis Figu e 6: Denma k: Local linea densi y es ima o as in (2), wi h b =1/6, on he ans o med scale: Gamma ail y (solid) compa ed wi h In e se Gaussian (do ed) and no ail y (dashed). 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 T ans o medaxis Figu e 7: Iceland: Local linea densi y es ima o as in (2), wi h b =1/2, on he ans o med scale: Gamma ail y (solid) compa ed wi h In e se Gaussian (do ed) and no ail y (dashed). Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 169 The e o e, he e is no eason o ea ha we ha e smoo hed oo much and ha should be he eason o he small de iance. This USA s udy gi es us some con idence ha he Gamma ail y su i al model is wo king well also o smalle da a se s, whe e bigge luc ua ions a e o be expec ed. Fo he Uni ed Kingdom he Gamma ail y su i al model also i s ela i ely well, bu now wi h de iances up o i e pe cen . Su p isingly he Danish Gamma ail y su i al densi y has e y small de iances wi h he bigges being less han h ee pe cen . Iceland is ano he case, de iances up o 20% a e ound and he wo ail y models do no seem o imp o e he i compa ed o ha ing no ail y a all. O e all he conclusion om he g aphs is ha he Gamma ail y makes he bes i , he In e se Gaussian less so, bu wi h bo h ail y models being supe io o ha ing no ail y a all. I we ake a close look a he ail o he h ee i ed Danish su i al models a he ans o med scale, we can ge some u he insigh in o he ques ion posed in he in oduc ion. I is indeed e y clea ha he la ening ou o he Gamma ail y densi y in he ail helps he i . The Gamma ail y e sion is much close o one a ound he ail wi h abou hal he de iance om one compa ed o he no- ail y densi y e sion. In gene al, he pe o mance o In e se Gaussian is somewha be ween ha o Gamma and no ail y. Fo Iceland, he cu es a e almos iden ical, due o he small es ima e o σ2 and e y simila es ima es o he o he pa ame e s. In o he wo ds, o Iceland, he cases o Gamma ail y, In e se Gaussian ail y and no ail y a e nea ly he same. Fo US and UK he Gamma speci ica ion clea ly p o ides he bes desc ip ion o da a o he candida es conside ed. Bo h he In e se Gaussian and no ail y al e na i e de ia e subs an ially mo e in he igh ail han Gamma ail y. These wo speci ica ions bo h o e es ima e old age mo ali y subs an ially, while he Gamma ail y seems o cap u e he old age mo ali y pla eau e iden in da a. Mo eo e , he igh ail de ia ions o Gamma ail y is o he same magni ude as de ia ions o younge age segmen s, while he igh ail de ia ions o In e se Gaussian and no ail y seems o di e ge. While he pic u e is less clea o Denma k, he ail y densi ies also he e imp o e he desc ip ion o old age mo ali y. I also seems ha wi hou ail y he de ia ion di e ges in he igh ail, bu he magni ude o de ia ion is much smalle han o US and UK. In con as o US and UK, he Gamma and In e se Gaussian essen ially pe o m equally well. Thus we conclude ha he e is enough in o ma ion in da a o indica e he p esence o he e ogenei y, bu no enough in o ma ion o dis inguish be ween he di e en kinds o he e ogenei y. Las ly, Iceland has so li le exposu e and so much unce ain y in da a ha e en wi h he me hod de i ed in his pape we canno dis inguish be ween he models. A c i ical pa o he s udy conce ns he pe o mance o he es ima o o ad anced ages. To his end, o each coun y we calcula e he second la ges and la ges poin s o in e sec ion o he es ima o wi h he ho izon al line (i.e. he wo la ges oo s o he equa ion b d(y) = 1) and ansla e his back in o he co esponding ages. Fo compa abili y, we ha e le ou in his in es iga ion he la e spike o no ail y and he In e se Gaussian in he USA case. The esul s a e gi en in Table 2 below. I is qui e clea ha Gamma ail y densi ies in all case a e ha ing he las c ossing poin . This indica es 170 A nonpa ame ic isual es o mixed haza d models ha he Gamma ail y densi y p o ides he bes desc ip ion o old age mo ali y among he conside ed models. In he USA case, we ge almos o he age o 100 be o e ou ans o med densi y d ops below one. The lowes las c ossing o he gamma ail y is s ill qui e high, namely 93 yea s. Abo e his las c ossing poin on he ans o med scale, all he i ed pa ame ic models seem o ha e oo low densi ies. Thus, abo e he las c ossing poin ou pa ame ic models a e o e s a ing he possibili y o dying. In o he wo ds, abo e he las c ossing poin all models seem o be on he sa e side. In pa icula he Gamma ail y seems well beha ed o annui y pu poses. The densi y o e y old a e a bi oo high, bu a ely mo e han wo pe cen , and hese wo pe cen a e on he sa e side when calcula ing o example annui ies. Mos o he ex a old age mass is aken om he in e al be ween he nex las c ossing poin and he las c ossing poin , whe e he unde lying pa ame ic densi ies a e o e es ima ed in all cases. The e o e, while none o he densi ies a e making a pe ec i , he Gamma ail y densi y is e y close and wi h good p ope ies o he annui y o ecas e . I is on he sa e side o he e y old ages, wi h an o e all annui y ha seems o be close o he u h, o e es ima ing he densi y in he e y old ages, bu compensa ing o ha o e es ima ion in an in e al leading up o hose old ages. Wi hou ail y he de ia ions o old ages a e subs an ially la ge han wi h (gamma) ail y. The ans o med densi y is below 1 which indica es ha he p obabili y o dying old is o e es ima ed. A i s glance his appea s o be a odds wi h he ac ha wi hou ail y he old-age haza d is o e es ima ed, c . Figu e 1. The explana ion is ha while he old-age haza d is o e es ima ed he haza d is unde es ima ed in he age g oups below and he e o e oo many a ain he (high) age o 90, say, a e which hey die oo quickly. The model wi hou ail y is on he sa e when se ing aside ese es o annui ies o 40 yea -olds, bu i we we e o use he same model o olde age g oups i would only be conse a i e up o a ce ain poin . This clea ly is no a desi able ea u e, and i illus a es he poin ha o e s a ing he p obabili y o dying old o one coho is no necessa ily a conse a i e assump ion o o he coho s. No ice ha i would be ha d o ge his kind o de ailed in o ma ion om es ing he unde lying densi ies o e en om g aphical isualiza ion echniques on he o iginal scale. The e o e, ou simple ans o ma ion echnique has enabled us o com o he s a is ician o ecas ing mo ali y models based on simple unde lying pa ame ic su i al dis ibu ions. Table 2: Second la ges and la ges c ossing poin o densi y es ima o wi h ho izon al line a 1. Coun y Gamma In e se Gaussian No ail y Second la ges La ges Second la ges La ges Second la ges La ges c ossing c ossing c ossing c ossing c ossing c ossing poin poin poin poin poin poin US 92.37 98.68 92.14 95.21 92.14 95.21 UK 89.51 96.85 89.15 95.34 87.61 92.10 Denma k 85.53 94.77 85.47 94.67 84.91 93.63 Iceland 84.38 93.02 84.34 93.01 84.34 93.01 Jaap Sp eeuw, Jens Pe ch Nielsen and Sø en Fiig Ja ne 171 5. Conclusions We ha e de eloped a new isual inspec ion echnique o su i al models. I gene alizes de elopmen s o ans o ma ion echniques o i.i.d. da a, see o example Bolanc´ e e al. (2008, 2012a, 2012b, 2013). The me hod seems use ul in many e sions o ollow-up s udies, see o example Guill´ en e al. (2012) and Pinque e al. (2011). We imagine i o be use ul when he applied s a is ician wan s he da a o guide his in ui ion. The wo king me hodology could be h ough unning he knowledge loop cycle: Da a→Visualiza ion→New Assump ion a numbe o imes un il he inal assump ions seem in ui i ely easonable and well beha ed also acco ding o mo e s anda d s a is ical echniques. All he mo ali y p ojec ion models discussed in he In oduc ion in ol e bo h an age and a ime dimension. As men ioned in he In oduc ion one can use ou one- dimensional isualiza ion echnique o he age e ec a e ha ing adjus ed o he ime e ec and ice e sa when isualizing he ime e ec . A ull mul idimensional e sion o ou me hodology is also possible. One could use mul idimensional densi y es ima ion o il e ed da a o in oduce a simila isual inspec ion echnique o assessing he quali y o mo ali y depending on bo h age and ime. See o example Buch-K omann and Nielsen (2012) o a ecen mul i a ia e densi y es ima o ha could be used in ou isual diagnos ic s ep a e ha ing ans o med ou da a wi h ou a ou i e o ecas ing mo ali y model. T ans o ma ions and isual i ing as de eloped in his pape would also seem ele an in o he a eas o ac ua ial science as, o example, ese ing, see he ecen pape s Ma ´ ınez-Mi anda e al. (2012) and Kuang e al. (2011). Acknowledgemen This p ojec was unded by a esea ch g an om The Ac ua ial Founda ion and he Socie y o Ac ua ies. Re e ences Abb ing, J. H. and Van den Be g, G. J. (2007). The unobse ed he e ogenei y dis ibu ion in du a ion anal- ysis. Biome ika, 94 (1), 87–99. Ande sen, P. K., Bo gan, O., Gill, R. D. and Keiding, N. (1993). S a is ical Models Based on Coun ing P o- cesses. Sp inge -Ve lag, New Yo k. Bolanc´ e, C., Guillen, M. and Nielsen, J. P. (2008). In e se be a ans o ma ion in ke nel densi y es ima ion. S a is ics and P obabili y Le e s, 78, 1757–1764. Bolanc´ e, C., Guill´ en, M., Nielsen, J. P. and Gus a sson, J. (2012a). Quan i a i e Ope a ional Risk Models. Chapman and Hall/CRC Finance Se ies, New Yo k. Bolanc´ e, C., Ayuso, M. and Guill´ en, M. (2012b). 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