Logit and Probit Application for the Prediction of Bankruptcy in Slovak Companies

Abstract

Research background: Prediction of bankruptcy is an issue of interest of various researchers and practitioners since the first study dedicated to this topic was published in 1932. Finding the suitable bankruptcy prediction model is the task for economists and analysts from all over the world. forecasting model using. Despite a large number of various models, which have been created by using different methods with the aim to achieve the best results, it is still challenging to predict bankruptcy risk, as corporations have become more global and more complex. Purpose of the article: The aim of the presented study is to construct, via an empirical study of relevant literature and application of suitable chosen mathematical statistical methods, models for bankruptcy prediction of Slovak companies and provide the comparison of overall prediction ability of the two developed models. Methods: The research was conducted on the data set of Slovak corporations covering the period of the year 2015, and two mathematical statistical methods were applied. The methods are logit and probit, which are both symmetric binary choice models, also known as conditional probability models. On the other hand, these methods show some significant differences in process of model formation, as well as in achieved results. Findings & Value added: Given the fact that mostly discriminant analysis and logistic regression are used for the construction of bankruptcy prediction models, we have focused our attention on the development bankruptcy prediction model in the Slovak Republic via logistic regression and probit. The results of the study suggest that the model based on a logit functions slightly outperforms the classification accuracy of probit model. Differences were obtained also in the detection of the most significant predictors of bankruptcy prediction in these types of models constructed in Slovak companies.