Bayes’ formula

Having a lot of trouble with Bayes’ formula. Any tips how to understand / approach this concept? Q) You have developed a set of criteria for evaluating distressed credits. Companies that do not receive a passing score are classed as likely to go bankrupt within 12 months. You gathered the following information when validating the criteria:

  • Forty percent of the companies to which the test is administered will go bankrupt within 12 months: P(nonsurvivor) = 0.40.
  • Fifty-five percent of the companies to which the test is administered pass it: P(pass test) = 0.55.
  • The probability that a company will pass the test given that it will subsequently survive 12 months, is 0.85: P(pass test | survivor) = 0.85. Using Bayes’ formula, calculate the probability that a company is a survivor, given that it passes the test; that is, calculate P(survivor | pass test). I approached it as: P(survivor) = P(survivor | pass test) (pass test) + P(Survivor | not pass test) (not pass test) . Solution approach is: P(survivor | pass test) = [P(pass test | survivor)/P(pass test)]P(survivor) = (0.85/0.55)0.60 = 0.927273 I have no idea what is going on here? Thank You

Don’t solve questions using Baye’s forumla. Do a decision tree, it’s a million times simplier.

Your first node should have nonsurvivor(0.4) on top survivor (0.6) on bottom. And then start branching off from there. It’s hard for me to describe because I can’t draw on this forum. But if you want I can email you a picture of how to do this via diagram.

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