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A Robust Similarity Estimator

Ilya Archakov

arXiv 18 Jan 2026 · Econometrics

arXiv:2601.12198 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

We construct and analyze an estimator of association between random variables based on their similarity in both direction and magnitude. Under special conditions, the proposed measure becomes a robust and consistent estimator of the linear correlation, for which an exact sampling distribution is available. This distribution is intrinsically insensitive to heavy tails and outliers, thereby facilitating robust inference for correlations. The measure can be naturally extended to higher dimensions, where it admits an interpretation as an indicator of joint similarity among multiple random variables. We investigate the empirical performance of the proposed measure with financial return data at both high and low frequencies. Specifically, we apply the new estimator to construct confidence intervals for correlations based on intraday returns and to develop a new specification for multivariate GARCH models.

Citation extraction

41
references
66
in-text mentions
41
distinct cited
4
self-citations
12,031
main-text words

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Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Fisher, R. A (1919) The Genesis of Twins0.8434475%
2Fisher, Ronald Aylmer (1921) On the "Probable Error" of a Coefficient of Correlation Deduced from a Small Sample0.84333100%
3Edward L. Thorndike (1905) Measurement of Twins0.84333100%
4Ilya Archakov and Peter Reinhard Hansen and Asger Lunde (2025) A multivariate realized GARCH model self0.81142100%
5Robert Engle and Bryan Kelly (2012) Dynamic Equicorrelation0.73732100%
6Greiner, R (1909) Über das fehlersystem der kollektivmasslehre0.73732100%
7Ilya Archakov and Peter Reinhard Hansen (2021) A New Parametrization of Correlation Matrices self0.64422100%
8Nils Blomqvist (1950) On a Measure of Dependence Between two Random Variables0.64422100%
9Engle, Robert (2002) Dynamic conditional correlation: A simple class of multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity models0.64422100%
10R. A. Fisher (1915) Frequency Distribution of the Values of the Correlation Coefficient in Samples from an Indefinitely Large Population0.64422100%

Showing the top 10 of 41 scored citations.