A note on the failure rates in finite mixed populations

Abstract

Almost all populations existing in the real world are finite populations. Specifically, in the areas relevant to lifetime modeling and analysis, finite populations are frequently encountered. However, descriptions of failure/survival patterns of elements in the finite population have not yet been properly established. In particular, it is questionable whether the ordinary failure rate can be defined for finite populations in the same way and whether the corresponding interpretations are still valid. In this paper we consider two kinds of finite mixed population and provide newdefinitions for their failure rates. Then we clarify the notion of failure rate in finite populations. © Applied Probability Trust 2012.