An instructive example of absorbing Markov chain
Pyung Il Yu · International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology · 1996
Absorbing Markov chains have been used for modelling various phenomena. Typical examples used when the subject is introduced to students include the gambler's ruin problem and the accounts receivable analysis. Once an absorbing Markov chain model is developed, however, students are provided with a very limited number of tools to analyse it, such as the expected numbers of steps taken before absorption and the probability of entering a specific absorbing state. The main purpose of this article is to expand the scope of analysis and to visualize the results. For the former, concepts of the reversed Markov chain and the input‐output equilibrium are utilized; and for the latter, a specially designed example is used.