A copula is best described, as in Joe (1997), as a multivariate distribution function that is used to bind each marginal distribution function to form the joint. The copula parameterises the dependence between the margins, while the parameters of each marginal distribution function can be estimated separately. This is a brief introduction to copulas and multivariate dependence issues within a health economics context. The research presented here will make its own contributions to the development of copulas as a methodology, but more importantly will make deliberate inroads into health economic applications of copulas. To do this, common analytic problems faced by health economists are considered. Some of the differences between the copula methodology and existing alternatives are discussed, and a generalisable, systematic approach to estimation is provided.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)