0000000000335651
AUTHOR
Ernesto J. Veres-ferrer
Is the cardholder an efficient alarm system to detect credit card incidents?
There is a growing tendency in credit card industry to increase the contribution of the smallest players, the cardholders, in the detection of card incidents. This article examines whether cardholders are efficient at detecting/communicating incidents of theft, loss or fraudulent use of their cards. The analysis focuses on whether they demonstrate enough speed of response to support a risk control subsystem by the issuer. The research follows a completely new approach showing how the issue can be handled by applying the concept of elasticity, a notion just recently exported from economics to the field of statistics by linking it with the reverse hazard rate. The issue is focused on the anal…
On the relationship between the reversed hazard rate and elasticity
Despite hazard and reversed hazard rates sharing a number of similar aspects, reversed hazard functions are far less frequently used. Understanding their meaning is not a simple task. The aim of this paper is to expand the usefulness of the reversed hazard function by relating it to other well-known concepts broadly used in economics: (linear or cumulative) rates of increase and elasticity. This will make it possible (i) to improve our understanding of the consequences of using a particular distribution and, in certain cases, (ii) to introduce our hypotheses and knowledge about the random process in a more meaningful and intuitive way, thus providing a means to achieving distributions that …
Elasticity function of a discrete random variable and its properties
ABSTRACTElasticity (or elasticity function) is a new concept that allows us to characterize the probability distribution of any random variable in the same way as characteristic functions and hazard and reverse hazard functions do. Initially defined for continuous variables, it was necessary to extend the definition of elasticity and study its properties in the case of discrete variables. A first attempt to define discrete elasticity is seen in Veres-Ferrer and Pavia (2014a). This paper develops this definition and makes a comparative study of its properties, relating them to the properties shown by discrete hazard and reverse hazard, as both defined in Chechile (2011). Similar to continuou…
Elasticity as a measure for online determination of remission points in ongoing epidemics.
The correct identification of change-points during ongoing outbreak investigations of infectious diseases is a matter of paramount importance in epidemiology, with major implications for the management of health care resources, public health and, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, social live. Onsets, peaks, and inflexion points are some of them. An onset is the moment when the epidemic starts. A "peak" indicates a moment at which the incorporated values, both before and after, are lower: a maximum. The inflexion points identify moments in which the rate of growth of the incorporation of new cases changes intensity. In this study, after interpreting the concept of elasticity of a random va…
Properties of the elasticity of a continuous random variable. A special look at its behavior and speed of change
ABSTRACTBelzunce et al. (1995) define the elasticity for non negative random variables as the reversed proportional failure rate (RPFR). Veres-Ferrer and Pavia (2012, 2014b) interpret it in economic terms, extending its definition to variables that can also take negative values, and briefly present the role of elasticity in characterizing probability distributions. This paper highlights a set of properties demonstrated by elasticity, which shows many similar properties to the reverse hazard function. This paper pays particular attention to studying the increase/decrease and the speed of change of the elasticity function. These are important properties because of the characterizing role of e…
The “Big Bang” of the populist parties in the European Union: The 2014 European Parliament election
A significant number of voters are turning their backs on traditional parties. The stability of European party systems is being defied by a growing number of (new) radical parties, whose presence i...
Credit card incidents and control systems
Abstract Credit and debit cards have spread and skyrocketed all around the world to become the most popular means of payments in many countries. Despite their enormous popularity, cards are not free of risk. Technology development and e-commerce have exponentially increased internal credit card incidents. This paper identifies and quantifies the different types of credit card fraud and puts into question the effectiveness of the role assigned to cardholders in its detection.
Is there an absolutely continuous random variable with equal probability density and cumulative distribution functions in its support? Is it unique? What about in the discrete case?
This paper inquires about the existence and uniqueness of a univariate continuous random variable for which both cumulative distribution and density functions are equal and asks about the conditions under which a possible extrapolation of the solution to the discrete case is possible. The issue is presented and solved as a problem and allows to obtain a new family of probability distributions. The different approaches followed to reach the solution could also serve to warn about some properties of density and cumulative functions that usually go unnoticed, helping to deepen the understanding of some of the weapons of the mathematical statistician’s arsenal.