Event Date
Speaker: Partha Lahiri, Professor & Director, Joint Program in Survey Methodology; Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland College Park
Title: "A Unified Approach to Small Area Estimation for Finite Population Sampling"
Abstract: We propose a unified approach that uses the Natural Exponential Family with Quadratic Variance Function in combining information from multiple sources to improve traditional survey estimates of finite population means for small areas. Unlike other Bayesian approaches in finite population sampling, we do not assume a model for all units of the finite population and do not require linking sampled units to the finite population frame. We assume a model only for the finite population units in which the outcome variable is observed; because, for these units, the assumed model can be checked using existing statistical tools. Instead of elaborate modeling on true probabilities for unobserved individual units, we assume that population means of cells with the same combination of factor levels are identical across small areas and the population mean of true probabilities for a cell is identical to the mean of true values for the observed units in that cell. We apply our proposed methodology to a real-life survey, linking information from multiple disparate data sources. We also provide practical ways of model selection that can be applied to a wider class of models under similar setting but for a diverse range of scientific problems.
The talk is based on my recent joint paper with my doctoral student Soumojit Das.
Bio: Dr. Partha Lahiri is Professor and Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) and Professor of Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland College Park (UMD), and an Adjunct Research Professor of the Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to joining UMD, Dr. Lahiri was the Milton Mohr Professor of Statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been recently appointed as the President-Elect of the International Association of Survey Statisticians. His research interests include survey statistics, Bayesian statistics, data integration, and small-area estimation. He published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals, delivered 17 plenary/keynote speeches and over 80 invited talks in professional meetings worldwide. Over the years, Dr. Lahiri served on the editorial board of several international journals, including the Journal of the American Statistical Association and Survey Methodology. He served on several advisory committees, including the U.S. Census Advisory committee and U.S. National Academy panel and served as consultant for international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. Dr. Lahiri is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. He received the 2021 SAE Award at the 63rd World Statistics Congress Satellite Meeting on Small Area Estimation in recognition of lifetime contributions to small area estimation research. More recently, Dr. Lahiri was awarded the Neyman Medal at a joint session of the 3rd Congress of Polish Statistics and 2022 International Association of Official Statistics (IAOS) held in Krakow, Poland, for outstanding contributions to the development of statistical sciences.
Faculty webpage (links to Univ. Maryland): https://jpsm.umd.edu/facultyprofile/lahiri/partha
Seminar Date/Time: Thur, Oct 19, 4:10pm
Location: MSB 1147, Colloquium Room
Refreshments: 3:30pm, MSB 1147 Courtyard