Mixed distributions are considered as a results of application of a linear operator, which maps mixing measures to mixed measures. The main result is a proof of continuity of this mixing operator. Corollaries for parametric families of distributions (usually considered in literature) are also discussed.

Sensitivity analyses are frequently used during the design of engineering systems to qualify and quantify the effect of parametric variation in the performance of a system. Two primary types of sensitivity analyses are generally used: local and global. Local analyses, generally involving derivative-based measures, have a significantly lower computational burden than global analyses but only pro...

Utilizing parametric and nonparametric techniques, we assess the role of a heretofore relatively unexplored ‘input’ in the educational process, homework, on academic achievement. Our results indicate that homework is an important determinant of student test scores. Relative to more standard spending related measures, extra homework has a larger and more significant impact on test scores. Howeve...

Standard goodness-of-fit tests for a parametric regression model against a series of nonparametric alternatives are based on residuals arising from a fitted model.When a parametric regression model is compared with a nonparametric model, goodness-of-fit testing can be naturally approached by evaluating the likelihood of the parametric model within a nonparametric framework. We employ the empiri...

Spectral risk measures are attractive risk measures as they allow the user to obtain risk measures that reflect their subjective risk-aversion. This paper examines spectral risk measures based on an exponential utility function, and finds that these risk measures have nice intuitive properties. It also discusses how they can be estimated using numerical quadrature methods, and how confidence in...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of local governments in Belgium using a broad variety of non-parametric and parametric reference technologies. Specifically, we calculate indices of cost efficiency for five different reference technologies, two non-parametric ones (Free Disposal Hull (FDH) and variable returns to scale Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)) and three parametric ...