On the relative behavior of estimators of the characteristic life in the exponential failure model
Based on a decomposition of mean relative error, a twofold method is introduced which allows for the pairwise comparison ofseveral point estimators of the scale parameter (characteristic life) in an exponential failure model. For two competing esti-mators the technique examines (a) the odds in favor of one of the estimators being closer to the true value than is the other and (b) each estimator’s average closeness to the true value not only when it is closer than is the other but also when it is not. Joint consideration of these concepts is shown to form a basis for determining which of the two estimators is preferred in a given situation.