MATLAB code for the paper "Inference on the endpoint of human lifespan and its inherent statistical difficulty"

Abstract

We offer an inference methodology for the upper endpoint of a regularly varying distribution with finite endpoint. We apply it to the IDL and GRG data sets of lifespans of supercentenarians. As in the comprehensive analysis of Rootzen and Zholud, our results underscore the effect of the data sampling scheme and censoring on the conclusions. We also quantify the statistical difficulty of distinguishing between the hypotheses of finite and infinite lifespan by providing estimates of the required sample size.