The subject of unobservable variables encompasses this thesis. These latent (i.e., unobservable) variables must be inferred using statistical models or observable proxies. The objectives of my doctoral thesis are to develop and test new statistical models to infer these variables and link them...

The empirical joint distribution of return-pairs on stock indices displays high tail-dependence in the lower tail and low tail-dependence in the upper tail. The presence of tail-dependence is not compatible with the assumption of (conditional) joint normality. The presence of asymmetric-tail...