The Johnson's ''S
U''-distribution is a four-parameter family of
probability distribution
In probability theory and statistics, a probability distribution is the mathematical function that gives the probabilities of occurrence of different possible outcomes for an experiment. It is a mathematical description of a random phenomenon i ...
s first investigated by
N. L. Johnson in 1949.
Johnson proposed it as a transformation of the
normal distribution
In statistics, a normal distribution or Gaussian distribution is a type of continuous probability distribution for a real-valued random variable. The general form of its probability density function is
:
f(x) = \frac e^
The parameter \mu ...
:
:
where
.
Generation of random variables
Let ''U'' be a
random variable
A random variable (also called random quantity, aleatory variable, or stochastic variable) is a mathematical formalization of a quantity or object which depends on random events. It is a mapping or a function from possible outcomes (e.g., the po ...
that is
uniformly distributed on the unit interval
, 1 Johnson's ''S
U'' random variables can be generated from ''U'' as follows:
:
where Φ is the
cumulative distribution function
In probability theory and statistics, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of a real-valued random variable X, or just distribution function of X, evaluated at x, is the probability that X will take a value less than or equal to x.
Ev ...
of the
normal distribution
In statistics, a normal distribution or Gaussian distribution is a type of continuous probability distribution for a real-valued random variable. The general form of its probability density function is
:
f(x) = \frac e^
The parameter \mu ...
.
Johnson's ''SB''-distribution
N. L. Johnson firstly proposes the transformation :
:
where
.
Johnson's ''S
B'' random variables can be generated from ''U'' as follows:
:
:
The ''S
B''-distribution is convenient to Platykurtic distributions (
Kurtosis
In probability theory and statistics, kurtosis (from el, κυρτός, ''kyrtos'' or ''kurtos'', meaning "curved, arching") is a measure of the "tailedness" of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable. Like skewness, kurtosi ...
).
To simulate ''S
U'', sample of code for its
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...
and
cumulative density function is availabl
here
Applications
Johnson's
-distribution has been used successfully to model asset returns for
portfolio management.
Johnson distributions are also sometimes used in
option pricing
In finance, a price (premium) is paid or received for purchasing or selling options. This article discusses the calculation of this premium in general. For further detail, see: for discussion of the mathematics; Financial engineering for the impl ...
, so as to accommodate an observed
volatility smile
Volatility smiles are implied volatility patterns that arise in pricing financial options. It is a parameter (implied volatility) that is needed to be modified for the Black–Scholes formula to fit market prices. In particular for a given expi ...
; see
Johnson binomial tree.
An alternative to the Johnson system of distributions is the
quantile-parameterized distribution Quantile-parameterized distributions (QPDs) are probability distributions that are directly parameterized by data. They were motivated by the need for easy-to-use continuous probability distributions flexible enough to represent a wide range of unce ...
s (QPDs). QPDs can provide greater shape flexibility than the Johnson system. Instead of fitting moments, QPDs are typically fit to
empirical CDF data with linear least squares.
References
Further reading
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*
Preprint
*
{{ProbDistributions, continuous-infinite
Continuous distributions