In small samples and especially in the case of small true default probabilities, standard approaches to credit default probability estimation have certain drawbacks. Most importantly, standard estimators tend to underestimate the true default probability which is of course an undesirable...

The specification of prior parameters is a common practical problem when implementing Bayesian approaches to portfolio optimization. The precision parameter of the prior on the expected asset returns reflects the confidence of the investor in the prior knowledge. Within the framework of the...

Linear optimization problems are investigated whose parameters are uncertain. We apply coherent distortion risk measures to capture the violation of restrictions. Such a model turns out to be appropriate for many applications and, principally, for the mean-risk portfolio selection problem. Each...

We introduce a measure of diversification for portfolios comprising d risky assets. This measure relates the smallest possible return variance among these d assets to the overall portfolio return variance, yielding the portion of non-diversifiable risk. In the context of normally distributed...

The work at hand tries to identify factors that explain accidents on German Autobahn connectors. To find these factors the empirical study makes use of count data models. The findings are based on a set of 197 ramps, which we classified into three distinct types of ramps. For these ramps...

While modern portfolio theory grounds on the trade-off between portfolio return and portfolio variance to determine the optimal investment decision, postmodern portfolio theory uses downside risk measures instead of the variance. Prominent examples are given by the risk measures Value-at-Risk...

In credit default prediction models, the need to deal with time-varying covariates often arises. For instance, in the context of corporate default prediction a typical approach is to estimate a hazard model by regressing the hazard rate on time-varying covariates like balance sheet or stock...

Nested parameter spaces, either in the null or alternative hypothesis, constitute a guarantee for improving the performance of the tests, however in the existing literature on order restricted inference they have been usually skipped for being studied in detail. Divergence based divergence...

In this paper we propose a methodology to estimate and forecast the GDP of the different regions of a country, providing quarterly profiles paper offers a new instrument for short degree of synchronicity among regional business cycles. Technically, we combine time series models with benchma...

Disability and dependency (lack of autonomy in performing common everyday actions) affect health status and quality of life, therefore they are significant public health issues. The main purpose of this study is to establish the existing relationship among different variables (continuous,...