Department of Statistics Seminar
North Carolina State University

presents

Tapabrata Maiti

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

"Small Area Estimation Using Time Series and Cross-Sectional Data"

ABSTRACT

Small area estimation has received considerable importance in survey sampling due to its growing demand from both public and private sectors. It is well known that the direct survey estimates are likely to yield unacceptably large standard errors due to the smallness of sample sizes in the areas. The appropriateness of model-based inference in small area estimation is well recognized. Suitable models are used to produce reliable small area estimates by `borrowing strength' from related auxiliary information.

In this article, a general methodology is proposed to combine information from similar regions and past surveys. The method is directly applied to the estimation of median income of four-person families for the fifty states and the district of Columbia. The proposed method is an advancement over the method currently used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the sense that it uses a more reliable model and produces a valid measure of uncertainty of the proposed estimates.

Tuesday, February 10, 1998

8:00 - 9:00 am

124 Dabney Hall

Refreshments will be served in 124 Dabney Hall at 7:45.