The skewness of a statistical distribution is often used to determine whether that distribution is symmetric or not. Such a determination is misleading. To show this we have analyzed a broad range of (classes of) skewness measures – complying with the requirements of a general skewness measure...

In this paper, we consider the question and present evidence as to whether or not Benford’s exponential first significant digit (FSD) law reflects a fundamental principle behind the complex and nondeterministic nature of large-scale physical and behavioral systems. As a behavioral example, we...

Firms grow and decline by relatively lumpy jumps which cannot be accounted by the cumulation of small, "atom-less", independent shocks. Rather "big" episodes of expansion and contraction are relatively frequent. More technically, this is revealed by fat tail distributions of growth rates. This...