By using data collected through a survey containing newly enrolled student in Management Engineering at the University of Brussels, we show that even if all students do not come with the same chance of success at university, their working/studying behavior may lessen the burden of the past....

In this paper we study the factors that influence both dropout and degree completion (4 or 5 years to earn a degree) at university using survival analysis. In particular, we apply the set of discrete-time methods for competing risks event history analysis described in Scott and Kennedy (2005)....

In this paper we maximize the efficiency of a multivariate S-estimator under a constraint on the breakdown point. In the linear regression model, it is known that the highest possible efficiency of a maximum breakdown S-estimator is bounded above by 33% for Gaussian errors. We prove the...

Nonparametric correlation estimators as the Kendall and Spearman correlation are widely used in the applied sciences. They are often said to be robust, in the sense of being resistant to outlying observations. In this paper we formally study their robustness by means of their influence functions...

This paper investigates the effectiveness of several methods intending to forecast the number of yearly PCT applications at WIPO. Forecasting exercises have been applied for total PCT applications and for 5 countries accounting for more than 70 per cent of total PCT applications. So far, with...