24,648 research outputs found
Monotonic regression based on Bayesian P-splines: an application to estimating price response functions from store-level scanner data
Generalized additive models have become a widely used instrument for flexible regression analysis. In many practical situations, however, it is desirable to restrict the flexibility of nonparametric estimation in order to accommodate a presumed monotonic relationship between a covariate and the response variable. For example, consumers usually will buy less of a brand if its price increases, and therefore one expects a brand's unit sales to be a decreasing function in own price. We follow a Bayesian approach using penalized B-splines and incorporate the assumption of monotonicity in a natural way by an appropriate specification of the respective prior distributions. We illustrate the methodology in an empirical application modeling demand for a brand of orange juice and show that imposing monotonicity constraints for own- and cross-item price effects improves the predictive validity of the estimated sales response function considerably
Redundancy of minimal weight expansions in Pisot bases
Motivated by multiplication algorithms based on redundant number
representations, we study representations of an integer as a sum , where the digits are taken from a finite alphabet
and is a linear recurrent sequence of Pisot type with
. The most prominent example of a base sequence is the
sequence of Fibonacci numbers. We prove that the representations of minimal
weight are recognised by a finite automaton and obtain an
asymptotic formula for the average number of representations of minimal weight.
Furthermore, we relate the maximal order of magnitude of the number of
representations of a given integer to the joint spectral radius of a certain
set of matrices
Predicting Mercury's Precession using Simple Relativistic Newtonian Dynamics
We present a new simple relativistic model for planetary motion describing
accurately the anomalous precession of the perihelion of Mercury and its
origin. The model is based on transforming Newton's classical equation for
planetary motion from absolute to real spacetime influenced by the
gravitational potential and introducing the concept of influenced direction.Comment: 5 page
The effect of magnetic dipolar interactions on the interchain spin wave dispersion in CsNiF_3
Inelastic neutron scattering measurements were performed on the ferromagnetic
chain system CsNiF_3 in the collinear antiferromagnetic ordered state below T_N
= 2.67K. The measured spin wave dispersion was found to be in good agreement
with linear spin wave theory including dipolar interactions. The additional
dipole tensor in the Hamiltonian was essential to explain some striking
phenomena in the measured spin wave spectrum: a peculiar feature of the
dispersion relation is a jump at the zone center, caused by strong dipolar
interactions in this system. The interchain exchange coupling constant and the
planar anisotropy energy were determined within the present model to be J'/k_B
= -0.0247(12)K and A/k_B = 3.3(1)K. This gives a ratio J/J' \approx 500, using
the previously determined intrachain coupling constant J/k_B = 11.8$. The small
exchange energy J' is of the same order as the dipolar energy, which implies a
strong competition between the both interactions.Comment: 18 pages, TeX type, 7 Postscript figures included. To be published in
Phys. Rev.
Dynamic scaling and universality in evolution of fluctuating random networks
We found that models of evolving random networks exhibit dynamic scaling
similar to scaling of growing surfaces. It is demonstrated by numerical
simulations of two variants of the model in which nodes are added as well as
removed [Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 5587 (1999)]. The averaged size and connectivity
of the network increase as power-laws in early times but later saturate.
Saturated values and times of saturation change with paramaters controlling the
local evolution of the network topology. Both saturated values and times of
saturation obey also power-law dependences on controlling parameters. Scaling
exponents are calculated and universal features are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, Europhysics Letters for
Predicting the relativistic periastron advance of a binary without curving spacetime
Relativistic Newtonian Dynamics, the simple model used previously for
predicting accurately the anomalous precession of Mercury, is now applied to
predict the periastron advance of a binary. The classical treatment of a binary
as a two-body problem is modified to account for the influence of the
gravitational potential on spacetime. Without curving spacetime, the model
predicts the identical equation for the relativistic periastron advance as the
post-Newtonian approximation of general relativity formalism thereby providing
further substantiation of this model.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Does More Generous Student Aid Increase Enrolment Rates into Higher Education?: Evaluating the German Student Aid Reform of 2001
Students from low-income families are eligible to student aid under the federal students' financial assistance scheme (BAfoeG) in Germany. We evaluate the effectiveness of a recent reform of student aid that substantially increased the amount received by eligible students to raise enrolment rates into tertiary education. We view this reform as a 'natural experiment' and apply the difference-in-difference methodology using a discrete-time hazard rate model to estimate the causal effect on enrolment rates into higher education. We find that the reform had a small positive but statistically insignificant effect on enrolment rates.Educational transitions, educational finance, natural experiment and difference-indifference estimation
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