On the approximation of functions satisfying defective renewal equations (Q654129)

Functions satisfying a defective renewal equation arise commonly in applied probability models. Usually these functions do not admit an explicit expression. In this work, the author considers their approximation by means of a gamma-type operator given in terms of the Laplace transform of the initial function. He investigates which conditions on the initial parameters of the renewal equation give the optimal order of uniform convergence of the approximation. He applies his results to ruin probabilities in the classical risk model, paying special attention to mixtures of gamma claim amounts.