"Each chapter opens with a real-life case study that forms the basis for several examples within the chapter. The questions included in the examples create a roadmap for mastering the most important learning outcomes within the chapter. A synopsis of each chapter's introductory case is presented...

The rent-to-own (RTO) industry, by offering immediate access to household goods for a small periodic fee with no credit check or down payment, has strong appeal to low income and financially distressed consumers. An important policy question is whether an RTO agreement is used as a rental/lease...

Unlike standard models, a split population hazard model allows the exit probability to be less than one. Although conceptually attractive, split models are prone to identification problems. In the reduced form estimation of the hazard function, the influence of split may not be distinguishable...

Different versions of the score test for neglected heterogeneity for a right censored exponential model are analyzed. These tests depend on how the information matrix is estimated. A test based on the theoretical information matrix is derived that is shown to outperform all the other tests....