On calculation of moments of ladder heights

Let X,X ₁,X ₂, … be independent identically distributed random variables, F(x) = P{X < x}, S ₀ = 0, and S _n =Σ _i=1 ⁿ X _i . We consider the random variables, ladder heights Z ₊ and Z ₋ that are respectively the first positive sum and the first negative sum in the random walk {S _n }, n = 0, 1, 2, …. We calculate the first three (four in the case EX = 0) moments of random variables Z ₊ and Z ₋ in the qualitatively different cases EX > 0, EX < 0, and EX = 0. __________ Translated from Lietuvos Matematikos Rinkinys, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 159–179, April–June, 2006.