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Basic Statistics (basic + statistics)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	60%

Selected Abstracts

The Impact of False Rejection Risk on Posterior Audit Risk Measurement

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2001
Anne D. Woodhead
This paper investigates false rejection risk, analysing the a priori relationship between the risk of false rejection and the more common risk of false acceptance, of an account balance by a substantive test. The paper uses probability theory to specify the relationship between these two risks and thus generate a model of posterior audit risk. The paper proceeds to investigate the relationship using the power function of basic statistics. This specifies the relationship between (i) the probability of rejecting the account balance and (ii) the size of the error which the balance contains. We argue that unless there is a discontinuity in the power function around the specified value of material error, then posterior audit risk will be unaffected by the substantive tests undertaken. Posterior risk will then be determined entirely by the assessed inherent and control risks. This conclusion is counter-intuitive to the approach to audit risk adopted by many professional pronouncements and results from the adoption of a mathematically rigorous definition of the risks encountered by the auditor. The primary conclusion is that the discontinuity arises under conditions of careful audit planning. If planning is careful, then false rejection risk contributes very little to posterior risk. In addition, there is very little difference between planned risk and posterior risk. [source]

Droughts and extreme events in regional daily Italian precipitation series

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
Michele Brunetti
Abstract This paper proposes a methodology to study daily precipitation series that include a significant proportion of missing data, without resorting to completion methods based on randomly generated numbers. It is applied to a data set consisting of 75 station records (1951,2000) covering the Italian territory. They are clustered by principal component analysis into six regions: the north-west, the northern part of the north-east, the southern part of the north-east, the centre, the south and the islands (i.e. Sicily and Sardinia). Complete annual and seasonal regional average series are obtained from the incomplete station records, and analysed for droughts and extreme precipitation events. Droughts are identified by means of two indicators: the longest dry period and the proportion of dry days. The most remarkable result is a systematic increase in winter droughts over all of Italy, especially in the north, due mainly to the very dry 1987,93 period. Extreme events are analysed considering 5 day regional totals. In this case, however, an attempt to search for a statistically significant trend is not successful because of the scarcity of events in such a short period. The reliability of the regional series is checked by computing some basic statistics concerning total precipitation, rainy days and precipitation intensity and comparing them with the same statistics computed for regional series obtained by station records completed with methods based on random number generators. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source]

What is Antidumping Policy Really About?

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 4 2000
Gunnar Niels
Dumping is whatever you can get the government to act against under the antidumping law. J. Michael Finger (1993, p.viii). Antidumping policy has become one of the most important instruments for protection in the international trade system, but at the same time it is the subject of an intense, though rather chaotic, debate. This paper provides an overview of the antidumping literature and the current issues. First it describes the origins of antidumping policy and provides some basic statistics on its current use drawn from several empirical studies. Next the paper discusses the economic foundations of antidumping law by examining the traditional and modern theories of dumping, as well as the industrial organization literature on price discrimination and predatory pricing. It is demonstrated that those economic foundations are weak. The paper also considers the fairness rationales for antidumping policy. Finally, it addresses the criticisms of antidumping laws, in particular in the context of the current antidumping versus competition policy debate, and discusses a variety of proposals for reform that have been made. The paper shows that the 1997 ,cease fire' agreement between Canada and Chile is a promising approach toward reform of antidumping policy. [source]

"Chips with Everything": A Laboratory Exercise for Comparing Subjective and Objective Measurements of Potato Chips

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE EDUCATION, Issue 3 2005
Cathy Davies
ABSTRACT: The following laboratory exercise was designed to aid student understanding of the differences between subjective and objective measurements. Students assess the color and texture of different varieties of potato chip (crisps) by means of an intensity rating scale and a rank test and objectively with a colorimeter and texture analyzer. For data analysis, student are instructed to critically determine, using basic statistics, any differences between the subjective and objective measurement techniques. This laboratory exercise is very versatile, and although it is designed as a hands-on exercise in an undergraduate Food Analysis course, it has also been a demonstration for High School students. [source]

Demand Diversification Under Uncertainty and Market Power

ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001
John J. Y. Seo
This paper justifies theoretically and empirically the diversification behaviour of an importing firm when it chooses the mixture of potentially differentiated products of its major input under price uncertainty. The paper investigates an equilibrium relationship among three key explanatory variables, which are the expected price, the systematic risk of price, and monopolistic market power of the suppliers in the market. The theoretical section shows that there exists a conflict between the risk,diversification effect and the agent's preference over certain products when the importer chooses the vector of optimal quantity shares. The latter effect may disturb or even dominate the former, which can be represented in an equilibrium relationship similar to the framework of the CAPM. As an empirical application, the Chinese wheat import market is examined and analysed to answer the questions raised by the basic statistics. JEL classification: F12; F14; L22 [source]