A distribution whose variance is infinite
Question
Give an example of a probability distribution that does not have a finite variance.
Short answer
For example, the density on . Its mean is , but diverges. A Student with degrees of freedom also works; the Cauchy distribution is a further example, though its mean is undefined as well.
Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q3.30, p.83; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
- Continuous Random Variables and Probability Density Functions
- Covariance and Correlation
- Cumulative Distribution Functions
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