In this paper, a new class of polarization measures is derived axiomatically. The concept of polarization is here identified with the decline of the middle class. In particular, we extend the definition of middle class towards a more realistic framework: the middle class is defined in terms of...

In this paper we estimate income distributions, Lorenz curves and the related Gini index using a Bayesian nonparametric approach based on Polya tree priors. In particular, we propose an alternative approach for dealing with contaminated observations and extreme income values: avoiding the common...

The combination of conflict, food insecurity, and displacement generates competing claims for financial resources that stretch the donors' ability to provide funding and the humanitarian organizations' capacity to provide social assistance. The paper uses Receiver Operating Characteristic curves...

Building predictive models for genomic mining requires feature selection, as an essential preliminary step to reduce the large number of variable available. Feature selection is a process to select a subset of features which is the most essential for the intended tasks such as classification,...

We consider the problem of estimating the lifetime value of customers, when a large number of features are present in the data. In order to measure lifetime value we use survival analysis models to estimate customer tenure. In such a context, a number of classical modelling challenges arise. We...

Considering the attention placed on SMEs in the new Basel Capital Accord, we propose a set of Bayesian and classical longitudinal models to predict SME default probability, taking unobservable firm and business sector heterogeneities as well as analysts recommendations into account. We compare...

This paper extends the existing literature on empirical research in the field of credit risk default for Small Medium Enterprizes (SMEs). We propose a non-parametric approach based on Random Survival Forests (RSF) and we compare its performance with a standard logit model. To the authors'...

Credit risk concentration is one of the leading topics in modern finance, as the bank regulation has made increasing use of external and internal credit ratings. Concentration risk in credit portfolios comes into being through an uneven distribution of bank loans to individual borrowers...

Considering the attention placed on SMEs in the new Basel Capital Accord, we propose a set of Bayesian and classical longitudinal models to predict SME default probability, taking unobservable firm and business sector heterogeneities as well as analysts’ recommendations into account. We...