Related papers: Small area estimation with generalized random fore…
This paper promotes the use of random forests as versatile tools for estimating spatially disaggregated indicators in the presence of small area-specific sample sizes. Small area estimators are predominantly conceptualized within the…
This paper proposes small area estimation methods that utilize generalized tree-based machine learning techniques to improve the estimation of disaggregated means in small areas using discrete survey data. Specifically, we present two…
This paper proposes a methodology to obtain estimates in small domains when the target is a composite indicator. These indicators are of utmost importance for studying multidimensional phenomena, but little research has been done on how to…
Poverty mapping that displays spatial distribution of various poverty indices is most useful to policymakers and researchers when they are disaggregated into small geographic units, such as cities, municipalities or other administrative…
Poverty maps are used to aid important political decisions such as allocation of development funds by governments and international organizations. Those decisions should be based on the most accurate poverty figures. However, often reliable…
Poverty prediction models are used to address missing data issues in a variety of contexts such as poverty profiling, targeting with proxy-means tests, cross-survey imputations such as poverty mapping, top and bottom incomes studies, or…
The average household income is one of the most important indexes for decision making and the modelling of economic inequity and poverty. In this work we propose a practical procedure to estimate the average income using small area methods.…
For estimating area-specific parameters (quantities) in a finite population, a mixed model prediction approach is attractive. However, this approach strongly depends on the normality assumption of the response values although we often…
We consider random forests and LASSO methods for model-based small area estimation when the number of areas with sampled data is a small fraction of the total areas for which estimates are required. Abundant auxiliary information is…
Many countries measure poverty based only on income or consumption. However, there is a growing awareness of measuring poverty through multiple dimensions that captures a more reasonable status of poverty. Estimating poverty measure(s) for…
We describe a method to identify poor households in data-scarce countries by leveraging information contained in nationally representative household surveys. It employs standard statistical learning techniques---cross-validation and…
In small area estimation different data sources are integrated in order to produce reliable estimates of target parameters (e.g., a mean or a proportion) for a collection of small subsets (areas) of a finite population. Regression models…
The Ministry of Social Development in Mexico is in charge of creating and assigning social programmes targeting specific needs in the population for the improvement of quality of life. To better target the social programmes, the Ministry is…
Poverty maps are essential tools for governments and NGOs to track socioeconomic changes and adequately allocate infrastructure and services in places in need. Sensor and online crowd-sourced data combined with machine learning methods have…
This paper proposes a new model-based approach to small area estimation of general finite-population parameters based on grouped data or frequency data, which is often available from sample surveys. Grouped data contains information on…
In surveys, the interest lies in estimating finite population parameters such as population totals and means. In most surveys, some auxiliary information is available at the estimation stage. This information may be incorporated in the…
Combining machine learning with econometric analysis is becoming increasingly prevalent in both research and practice. A common empirical strategy involves the application of predictive modeling techniques to 'mine' variables of interest…
When estimating area means, direct estimators based on area-specific data, are usually consistent under the sampling design without model assumptions. However, they are inefficient if the area sample size is small. In small area estimation,…
Analysis of sample survey data often requires adjustments to account for missing data in the outcome variables of principal interest. Standard adjustment methods based on item imputation or on propensity weighting factors rely heavily on…
Best linear unbiased prediction is well known for its wide range of applications including small area estimation. While the theory is well established for mixed linear models and under normality of the error and mixing distributions, the…