Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/ia/paper-2/4f/solution

Write the countable supports as and the marginal masses as . Independence gives joint mass . Assuming finite expected values, absolute integrability is justified by Tonelli theorem:
Consequently Fubini's theorem permits factorization of the signed sum, proving the expectation of a product of independent random variables:
The second claim holds as a general assertion with the additional hypothesis that the positive variables are integer-valued. For a nonnegative integer-valued , the pointwise identity and Tonelli theorem give the tail-sum formula
If each is integer-valued, their product is too. Apply this identity to each factor and to the product, then use independence:
Under the literal broader meaning of a discrete random variable, the second claim is false. Two independent constants are positive and discrete, but the left side is and the right side is . More generally the integer-indexed tail sum of a positive real-valued variable is , not . This is the integer-valued hypothesis in the tail-sum formula.

New to topics? Read the docs here!