This book studies the process of demographic transition which has played a key role in the economic development of Western countries. The special focus is on France, which constitutes the first clear case of fertility decline in Europe. The book analyzes the reasons behind this phenomenon by examining the evolution of demographic variables in France over the past two hundred years. To better understand the reasons of the changing patterns of demographic behavior, the authors investigate th...

A decade ago, computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter coined the term innumeracy, which aptly described the widespread ailment of poor quantitative thinking in American society. So, in What the Numbers Say, Derrick Niederman and David Boyum present clear and comprehensible methods to help us process and calculate our way through the world of “data smog” that we live in. Avoiding abstruse formulations and equations, Niederman and Boyum anchor their presentations in the real ...

An introduction to statistical data mining, Data Analysis and Data Mining is both textbook and professional resource. Assuming only a basic knowledge of statistical reasoning, it presents core concepts in data mining and exploratory statistical models to students and professional statisticians-both those working in communications and those working in a technological or scientific capacity-who have a limited knowledge of data mining. This book presents key statistical concepts by w...

This is the only book actuaries need to understand generalized linear models (GLMs) for insurance applications. GLMs are used in the insurance industry to support critical decisions. Until now, no text has introduced GLMs in this context or addressed the problems specific to insurance data. Using insurance data sets, this practical, rigorous book treats GLMs, covers all standard exponential family distributions, extends the methodology to correlated data structures, and discusses recent de...

The Black–Scholes option pricing model is the first and by far the best-known continuous-time mathematical model used in mathematical finance. Here, it provides a sufficiently complex, yet tractable, testbed for exploring the basic methodology of option pricing. The discussion of extended markets, the careful attention paid to the requirements for admissible trading strategies, the development of pricing formulae for many widely traded instruments and the additional complications offered b...

Linear Algebra and Linear Models comprises a concise and rigorous introduction to linear algebra required for statistics followed by the basic aspects of the theory of linear estimation and hypothesis testing. The emphasis is on the approach using generalized inverses. Topics such as the multivariate normal distribution and distribution of quadratic forms are included.For this third edition, the material has been reorganised to develop the linear algebra in the first six chapters, ...

With the healthcare sector accounting for a sizeable proportion of national expenditures, the pursuit of efficiency has become a central objective of policymakers within most health systems. However, the analysis and measurement of efficiency is a complex undertaking, not least due to the multiple objectives of health care organizations and the many gaps in information systems. In response to this complexity, research in organizational efficiency analysis has flourished. This 2006 book exa...

Exceptional managers know that they can create competitive advantages by basing decisions on performance response under alternative scenarios. To create these advantages, managers need to understand how to use statistics to provide information on performance response under alternative scenarios. This updated edition of the popular text helps business students develop competitive advantages for use in their future careers as decision makers. Students learn to build models using logic and ex...

This book is a practical guide on how to design, create and validate a spatial microsimulation model. These models are becoming more popular as academics and policy makers recognise the value of place in research and policy making. Recent spatial microsimulation models have been used to analyse health and social disadvantage for small areas; and to look at the effect of policy change for small areas. This provides a powerful analysis tool for researchers and policy makers.This book...

Quickly and Easily Write Dynamic DocumentsSuitable for both beginners and advanced users, Dynamic Documents with R and knitr, Second Edition makes writing statistical reports easier by integrating computing directly with reporting. Reports range from homework, projects, exams, books, blogs, and web pages to virtually any documents related to statistical graphics, computing, and data analysis. The book covers basic applications for beginners while guiding p...

This book provides an introduction to multistate event history analysis. It is an extension of survival analysis, in which a single terminal event (endpoint) is considered and the time-to-event is studied. Multistate models focus on life histories or trajectories, conceptualized as sequences of states and sequences of transitions between states. Life histories are modeled as realizations of continuous-time Markov processes. The model parameters, transition rates, are estimated from data on...

Collecting, Managing, and Assessing Data Using Sample Surveys provides a thorough, step-by-step guide to the design and implementation of surveys. Beginning with a primer on basic statistics, the first half of the book takes readers on a comprehensive tour through the basics of survey design. Topics covered include the ethics of surveys, the design of survey procedures, the design of the survey instrument, how to write questions and how to draw representative samples. Having shown readers ...