A STRATEGY FOR CONSTRUCTING MULTIVARIATE DISTRIBUTIONS

Given a random vector (X(1),...,X(n)) for which the univariate and bivariate marginal distributions belong to some specified families of distributions, we present a procedure for constructing families of multivariate distributions with the specified univariate and bivariate margins. Some general properties of the resulting families of multivariate distributions are reviewed. This procedure is illustrated by generalizing the bivariate Plackett (1965) and Clayton (1978) distributions to three dimensions. In addition to providing rich families of models for data analysis, this method of construction provides a convenient way of simulating observations from multivariate distributions with specific types of univariate and bivariate marginal distributions. A general algorithm for simulating random observations from these families of multivariate distributions is presented.