Functions of Concordance and Dependence with Related Measures

Some functions that serve as building blocks for construction of a wider range of modes of concordance and dependence are pointed. We probe into interplays of such modes. From the standpoint of their conformity to stochastic dominance ordering of distributions within a Fréchet class, all such derived modes display some parallelism under certain conditions. We finally suggest a novel numeric measure of dependence that covers similar existing measures in literature.     

Zenga Distribution and Inequality Ordering

The aim of this article is to establish an ordering related to the inequality for the recently introduced Zenga distribution. In addition to the well-known order based on the Lorenz curve, the order based on I(p) curve is considered. Since the Zenga distribution seems to be suitable to model wealth, financial, actuarial, and, especially, income distributions, these findings are fundamental in the understanding of how parameter values are related to inequality. This investigation shows that for the Zenga distribution, two of the three parameters are inequality indicators.     

An integrated dominance analysis and dynamic programing approach for measuring predictor importance for customer satisfaction

Abstract

Dominance analysis is a procedure for measuring the importance of predictors in multiple regression analysis. We show that dominance analysis can be enhanced using a dynamic programing approach for the rank-ordering of predictors. Using customer satisfaction data from a call center operation, we demonstrate how the integration of dominance analysis with dynamic programing can provide a better understanding of predictor importance. As a cautionary note, we recommend careful reflection on the relationship between predictor importance and variable subset selection. We observed that slight changes in the selected predictor subset can have an impact on the importance rankings produced by a dominance analysis.     

Estimation of a distribution function bounded by two known distribution functions

The problem of estimation of a cumulative distribution function (cdf), bounded by two known cdf's, is considered. An estimator satisfying the desired restriction has been obtained by suitably adjusting the empirical cdf. Consistency of the adjusted estimator has been established and its mean square error (MSE) has been shown to be smallerthan that of the empirical cdf. The new estimator has been comparedwith the empirical cdf for some special cases.     

A Case Study in Nonresponse: Plaintiff vs. California State Board of Equalization

In any sample survey, nonresponse bias is a potential issue. Even with a moderately high nonresponse rate, however, covariates can sometimes be used to show that the nonresponse bias is likely to be small. This note presents such an argument, which was used by the winning side in a tax case.     

Pareto mimic algorithm: An approach to the team orienteering problem

The team orienteering problem is an important variant of the vehicle routing problem. In this paper, a new algorithm, called Pareto mimic algorithm, is proposed to deal with it. This algorithm maintains a population of incumbent solutions which are updated using Pareto dominance. It uses a new operator, called mimic operator, to generate a new solution by imitating an incumbent solution. Furthermore, to improve the quality of a solution, it employs an operator, called swallow operator which attempts to swallow (or insert) an infeasible node and then repair the resulting infeasible solution. A comparative study supports the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, especially, our algorithm can quickly find new better results for several large-scale instances. We also demonstrate that Pareto mimic algorithm can be generalized to solve other routing problems, e.g., the capacitated vehicle routing problem.     

我国转基因抗虫棉推广与生产优势区域变化实证分析

结合我国推广种植转基因棉花的情况,运用概率优势原理,测算了我国13个主要产棉省（区）及全国平均的棉花生产成本、净收益、总产量的一级概率优势FSD值,发现甘肃、江西棉花生产优势最为显著,新疆、安徽棉花产量和净收益都具有优势,山东、江苏两省棉花生产成本及净收益优势显著,验证了转基因棉花种植区与棉花生产优势地区相一致的假设。     

Statistical Inference for Stochastic Dominance and for the Measurement of Poverty and Inequality

We derive the asymptotic sampling distribution of various estimators frequently used to order distributions in terms of poverty, welfare, and inequality. This includes estimators of most of the poverty indices currently in use, as well as estimators of the curves used to infer stochastic dominance of any order. These curves can be used to determine whether poverty, inequality, or social welfare is greater in one distribution than in another for general classes of indices and for ranges of possible poverty lines. We also derive the sampling distribution of the maximal poverty lines up to which we may confidently assert that poverty is greater in one distribution than in another. The sampling distribution of convenient dual estimators for the measurement of poverty is also established. The statistical results are established for deterministic or stochastic poverty lines as well as for paired or independent samples of incomes. Our results are briefly illustrated using data for four countries drawn from the Luxembourg Income Study data bases.     

从法律适用层面解析滥用市场支配地位——采用经济指标与案例分析法

准确界定相关市场、市场支配地位及滥用行为对认定滥用市场支配地位尤显关键。然而,现有立法对此的相关规定尚存缺憾,从而造成法律实务中欠缺可操作性和统一性。因此,在界定“相关市场”时,可效仿欧盟、美国等做法,引入合理的可替代性和需求交叉弹性这两个经济指标,并效仿使用“SSNIP标准”;认定“市场支配地位”时,对直接性推定指标作出定义性界定,并可借鉴德国做法,在反垄断主管机构与国家统计局间建立与市场份额相关的数据信息的义务性联系;判定“滥用行为”时,借助一般性评判标准并明确采用合理原则,同时,对列举的六种常见表现形式加以细化解释。     

Supplier Evaluation and Selection Based on Stochastic Dominance: A Quality-Based Approach

Quality has become a major business strategy such that organizations with successful improvement of their products quality can gain productivity, enhance market penetration, achieve great profitability, and strongly sustain their competitive advantages. The quality of materials received from suppliers determines not only the quality of assembled products but also satisfaction and loyalty of downstream customers. In this article, we employ decision-making processes of the stochastic dominance on the basis of loss-based capability indices to compare certain potential suppliers. In view of compared results of the first-order and second-order stochastic dominances, each supplier is categorized as a superior supplier, weakly superior supplier, strongly non dominated supplier, or non dominated supplier. We develop a general computational procedure to select the preferable suppliers in an analytical way. To assist decision-makers in selecting preferable suppliers, quantile-quantile plots of loss-based capability indices presenting the results of the first-order stochastic dominance of the indices’ estimators are developed so that they can simultaneously visualize pair-wise comparisons of the suppliers and make appropriate decisions. Finally, a practical example invoking the stochastic dominance using the loss-based capability indices to carry out the quality-based supplier evaluation and selection is presented to demonstrate the applicability of our proposed methodology.