Effects of Data Imputation Methods on Data Missingness in Data Mining

The purpose of this paper is to study theeffectiveness of data imputation methods in dealingwith data missingness in the data mining phase ofknowledge discovery in Database (KDD). Theapplication of data mining techniques without carefulconsideration of missing data can result into biasedresults and skewed conclusions. This research exploresthe impact of data missingness at various levels in KDDmodels employing neural networks as the primary datamining algorithm. Four of the most commonly utilizeddata imputation methods - Case Deletion, MeanSubstitution, Regression Imputation, and MultipleImputation were evalutated using Root Mean Square(RMS) Values, ANOVA Testing, T-tests, and Tukey’sHonestly Significant Difference Test to assess thedifferences of performance levels between variousKnowledge Discovery and Neural Network Models,both in the presence and absence of Missing Data

How Much Do Taxes Discourage Incorporation.

One of the most basic distortions created by the double taxation of corporate income is the disincentive to incorporate. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which the aggregate allocation of assets and taxable income in the U.S. between corporate vs. noncorporate forms of organization during the period 1959-86 has responded to the size of the tax distortion discouraging firms from incorporating. In theory, profitable firms should shift out of the corporate sector when the tax distortion to incorporating is larger, and conversely for firms with tax losses. Our empirical results provide strong support for these theoretical forecasts, and hold consistently across a wide variety of specifications and measures of the tax variables. Measured effects are small, however, throwing doubt on the economic importance of tax-induced changes in organizational form.

Business environment and firm entry : Evidence from international data

Using a comprehensive database of firms in Western and Eastern Europe, the authors study how the business environment in a country drives the creation of new firms. They focus on regulations governing entry, although they also examine the effects of a developed financial sector, a well-trained labor force, strong enforcement of intellectual property rights, and strict labor laws. The authors find entry regulations hamper entry, especially in industries that naturally should have high entry. They find that naturally"high entry"industries grow less, have lower profitability, and account for a lower share of the economy in countries with onerous regulations on entry. Also, value added per employee in naturally"high entry"industries grows more slowly in countries with onerous regulations on entry. This suggests entry regulations are neither benign nor welfare improving. The authors also find less entry into labor-intensive industries in countries with labor regulations that restrict the ability to fire workers. They do not imply that all regulations inhibit entry. In particular, regulations that enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights or those that lead to a better developed financial sector do lead to greater entry in industries that do more research and development or industries that need more external finance. Finally, other aspects of the environment also matter: for instance, the general availability of skilled labor enhances entry in industries that require skilled labor.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Public Health Promotion,Small and Medium Size Enterprises,Small Scale Enterprise,Microfinance,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Small Scale Enterprise,Microfinance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies