Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 January 2018
Suppose that X1, …, Xn are random variables with the same known marginal distribution F but unknown dependence structure. In this paper we study the smallest possible value of P(X1 + · · · + Xn < s) over all possible dependence structures, denoted by mn,F(s). We show that mn,F(ns) → 0 for s no more than the mean of F under weak assumptions. We also derive a limit of mn,F(ns) for any s ∈ R with an error of at most n-1/6 for general continuous distributions. An application of our result to risk management confirms that the worst-case value at risk is asymptotically equivalent to the worst-case expected shortfall for risk aggregation with dependence uncertainty. In the last part of this paper we present a dual presentation of the theory of complete mixability and give dual proofs of theorems in the literature on this concept.