Integrated quantile functions: properties and applications

• Published in: Modern Stochastics: Theory and Applications Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 285 - 314
• Main Authors: Gushchin, Alexander A., Borzykh, Dmitriy A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: VTeX 08-12-2017
• Subjects: binary experiments; Chacon–Walsh construction; convex stochastic order; integrated distribution functions; integrated quantile functions; Quantile functions
• ISSN: 2351-6046; 2351-6054
• DOI: 10.15559/17-VMSTA88

In this paper we provide a systematic exposition of basic properties of integrated distribution and quantile functions. We define these transforms in such a way that they characterize any probability distribution on the real line and are Fenchel conjugates of each other. We show that uniform integrability, weak convergence and tightness admit a convenient characterization in terms of integrated quantile functions. As an application we demonstrate how some basic results of the theory of comparison of binary statistical experiments can be deduced using integrated quantile functions. Finally, we extend the area of application of the Chacon–Walsh construction in the Skorokhod embedding problem.