This guide to small area estimation aims to help users compile more reliable granular or disaggregated data in cost-effective ways. It explains small area estimation techniques with examples of how the easily accessible R analytical platform can be used to implement them, particularly to estimate indicators on poverty, employment, and health outcomes. The guide is intended for staff of national statistics offices and for other development practitioners. It aims to help them to develop and implement targeted socioeconomic policies to ensure that the vulnerable segments of societies are not left behind, and to monitor progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

An accessible introduction to indirect estimation methods, both traditional and model-based. Readers will also find the latest methods for measuring the variability of the estimates as well as the techniques for model validation. Uses a basic area-level linear model to illustrate the methods Presents the various extensions including binary response data through generalized linear models and time series data through linear models that combine cross-sectional and time series features Provides recent applications of SAE including several in U.S. Federal programs Offers a comprehensive discussion of the design issues that impact SAE

A comprehensive guide to implementing SAE methods for poverty studies and poverty mapping There is an increasingly urgent demand for poverty and living conditions data, in relation to local areas and/or subpopulations. Policy makers and stakeholders need indicators and maps of poverty and living conditions in order to formulate and implement policies, (re)distribute resources, and measure the effect of local policy actions. Small Area Estimation (SAE) plays a crucial role in producing statistically sound estimates for poverty mapping. This book offers a comprehensive source of information regarding the use of SAE methods adapted to these distinctive features of poverty data derived from surveys and administrative archives. The book covers the definition of poverty indicators, data collection and integration methods, the impact of sampling design, weighting and variance estimation, the issue of SAE modelling and robustness, the spatio-temporal modelling of poverty, and the SAE of the distribution function of income and inequalities. Examples of data analyses and applications are provided, and the book is supported by a website describing scripts written in SAS or R software, which accompany the majority of the presented methods. Key features: Presents a comprehensive review of SAE methods for poverty mapping Demonstrates the applications of SAE methods using real-life case studies Offers guidance on the use of routines and choice of websites from which to download them Analysis of Poverty Data by Small Area Estimation offers an introduction to advanced techniques from both a practical and a methodological perspective, and will prove an invaluable resource for researchers actively engaged in organizing, managing and conducting studies on poverty.

Praise for the First Edition "This pioneering work, in which Rao provides a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of small area estimation, will become a classic...I believe that it has the potential to turn small area estimation...into a larger area of importance to both researchers and practitioners." —Journal of the American Statistical Association Written by two experts in the field, Small Area Estimation, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the methods and theory of small area estimation (SAE), particularly indirect estimation based on explicit small area linking models. The model-based approach to small area estimation offers several advantages including increased precision, the derivation of "optimal" estimates and associated measures of variability under an assumed model, and the validation of models from the sample data. Emphasizing real data throughout, the Second Edition maintains a self-contained account of crucial theoretical and methodological developments in the field of SAE. The new edition provides extensive accounts of new and updated research, which often involves complex theory to handle model misspecifications and other complexities. Including information on survey design issues and traditional methods employing indirect estimates based on implicit linking models, Small Area Estimation, Second Edition also features: Additional sections describing the use of R code data sets for readers to use when replicating applications Numerous examples of SAE applications throughout each chapter, including recent applications in U.S. Federal programs New topical coverage on extended design issues, synthetic estimation, further refinements and solutions to the Fay-Herriot area level model, basic unit level models, and spatial and time series models A discussion of the advantages and limitations of various SAE methods for model selection from data as well as comparisons of estimates derived from models to reliable values obtained from external sources, such as previous census or administrative data Small Area Estimation, Second Edition is an excellent reference for practicing statisticians and survey methodologists as well as practitioners interested in learning SAE methods. The Second Edition is also an ideal textbook for graduate-level courses in SAE and reliable small area statistics.

Small Area Estimation and Microsimulation Modeling is the first practical handbook that comprehensively presents modern statistical SAE methods in the framework of ultramodern spatial microsimulation modeling while providing the novel approach of creating synthetic spatial microdata. Along with describing the necessary theories and their advantages and limitations, the authors illustrate the practical application of the techniques to a large number of substantive problems, including how to build up models, organize and link data, create synthetic microdata, conduct analyses, yield informative tables and graphs, and evaluate how the findings effectively support the decision making processes in government and non-government organizations. Features Covers both theoretical and applied aspects for real-world comparative research and regional statistics production Thoroughly explains how microsimulation modeling technology can be constructed using available datasets for reliable small area statistics Provides SAS codes that allow readers to utilize these latest technologies in their own work. This book is designed for advanced graduate students, academics, professionals and applied practitioners who are generally interested in small area estimation and/or microsimulation modeling and dealing with vital issues in social and behavioural sciences, applied economics and policy analysis, government and/or social statistics, health sciences, business, psychology, environmental and agriculture modeling, computational statistics and data simulation, spatial statistics, transport and urban planning, and geospatial modeling. Dr Azizur Rahman is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics and convenor of the Graduate Program in Applied Statistics at the Charles Sturt University, and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health and Biostatistics at the University of Canberra. His research encompasses small area estimation, applied economics, microsimulation modeling, Bayesian inference and public health. He has more than 60 scholarly publications including two books. Dr. Rahman’s research is funded by the Australian Federal and State Governments, and he serves on a range of editorial boards including the International Journal of Microsimulation (IJM). Professor Ann Harding, AO is an Emeritus Professor of Applied Economics and Social Policy at the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) of the University of Canberra. She was the founder and inaugural Director of this world class Research Centre for more than sixteen years, and also a co-founder of the International Microsimulation Association (IMA) and served as the inaugural elected president of IMA from 2004 to 2011. She is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. She has more than 300 publications including several books in microsimulation modeling.

This book evolved from lectures, courses and workshops on missing data and small-area estimation that I presented during my tenure as the ?rst C- pion Fellow (2000–2002). For the Fellowship I proposed these two topics as areas in which the academic statistics could contribute to the development of government statistics, in exchange for access to the operational details and background that would inform the direction and sharpen the focus of a- demic research. After a few years of involvement, I have come to realise that the separation of ‘academic’ and ‘industrial’ statistics is not well suited to either party, and their integration is the key to progress in both branches. Most of the work on this monograph was done while I was a visiting l- turer at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. The hospitality and stimulating academic environment of their Institute of Information S- ence and Technology is gratefully acknowledged. I could not name all those who commented on my lecture notes and on the presentations themselves; apart from them, I want to thank the organisers and silent attendees of all the events, and, with a modicum of reluctance, the ‘grey ?gures’ who kept inquiring whether I was any nearer the completion of whatever stage I had been foolish enough to attach a date.

This book is a practical guide on how to design, create and validate a spatial microsimulation model. These models are becoming more popular as academics and policy makers recognise the value of place in research and policy making. Recent spatial microsimulation models have been used to analyse health and social disadvantage for small areas; and to look at the effect of policy change for small areas. This provides a powerful analysis tool for researchers and policy makers. This book covers preparing the data for spatial microsimulation; a number of methods for both static and dynamic spatial microsimulation models; validation of the models to ensure the outputs are reasonable; and the future of spatial microsimulation. The book will be an essential handbook for any researcher or policy maker looking to design and create a spatial microsimulation model. This book will also be useful to those policy makers who are commissioning a spatial microsimulation model, or looking to commission work using a spatial microsimulation model, as it provides information on the different methods in a non-technical way.