An Alternative to the Oversimplifying Benford’s Law in Experimental Fields

Stéphane Blondeau Da Silva ()
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Stéphane Blondeau Da Silva: Rectorat de Limoges

Sankhya B: The Indian Journal of Statistics, 2022, vol. 84, issue 2, No 15, 778-808

Abstract: Abstract A way to model the distribution of first digits in some naturally occurring collections of data is here highlighted. The proportion of d as leading digit, d ∈⟦1,9⟧, in data is sometimes more likely to follow a specific law whose probability distribution is determined by a lower and an upper bound, rather than Benford’s Law, as one might have expected. These peculiar probability distributions fluctuate around Benford’s values, such fluctuations having often been observed in the literature in experimental data sets (where the physical, biological or economical quantities considered are lower and upper bounded). Knowing beforehand the values of these bounds enables to find, through the developed model, a better adjusted law than Benford’s one.

Keywords: Benford’s Law; leading digit; experimental data.; Primary 60E05; Secondary 62-07 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s13571-022-00287-0

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