In numerically implementing the optimization of an expected value in many economic models, it is often necessary to approximate a given continuous probability distribution by a discrete distribution. We propose an approximation method based on the principle of maximum entropy and minimum...

Amato (1968) proposed using the length of the Lorenz curve as an index of inequality. The index has been little used, perhaps because of the perceived difficulty in analytically evaluating the value of the index in specific situations. A simple representation of the index as an expectation of a...

In the study of earnings management, researchers attempt to know the reason managers manipulate earnings of a company. Some preceding studies have focused on the distribution of reported earnings, and they treat the evidence of manipulation on earnings as discontinuity (at most cases around zero...

We derive a first order approximation for the probability that a general two-dimensional random walk crosses a circular boundary. Simulations are performed to assess the accuracy of the approximation, and statistical applications are discussed.