Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 28 / 1 / b / ii / Solution

The exponential distribution with rate $\beta >0$ has moment-generating function $\beta /(\beta -t)$ for $t<\beta$. Shifting it by $\alpha$ multiplies the moment-generating function by $e^{\alpha t}$. Therefore the shifted-exponential Poisson mixture has probability generating functionThe probability generating function converges and is analytic for $|z|<\beta +1$, and in particular is finite for real $0\le z<\beta +1$.

Write $p=\beta /(\beta +1)$ and $q=1/(\beta +1)$, so $p+q=1$. The factor $e^{\alpha (z-1)}$ is the probability generating function of $V\sim \mathrm{Poisson}(\alpha )$, while $p/(1-qz)$ is that of a geometric distribution on $\{0,1,\dots \}$, with $\mathbb{P}(W=j)=p{q}^j$. Choose $V$ and $W$ independently. The product rule for the probability generating function of a sum of independent counts then proves $N\stackrel{d}{=}V+W$. The support-zero convention for $W$ is essential here.

The convolution of independent random variables gives the finite sumTaking the logarithmic derivative of the probability generating function givesCompare coefficients of $z^{n-1}$, for $n\ge 2$. The left side is $(\beta +1)n{p}_n-(n-1)p_{n-1}$, and the right side is $\{1+\alpha (\beta +1)\}{p}_{n-1}-\alpha p_{n-2}$. Hence the shifted-exponential Poisson count recursion isThe constant and linear coefficients supply the starting valuesThese two values determine every subsequent probability by the recursion. The negative second term does not mean that the distribution has negative probabilities: the convolution formula exhibits every $p_n$ as a sum of nonnegative quantities.

At $\alpha =0$ the independent Poisson distribution component is identically zero and the count has a geometric distribution. Both the finite sum and the recursion reduce to $p_n=q{p}_{n-1}$. Consequently the Panjer claim-count class parameters areAlthough the shifted model initially has positive $\alpha$, this zero-shift boundary case is well defined.