Challenges in Statistics Production for Domains and Small Areas

August 28-31, 2005

  Call for Papers

The programme consists of sessions for invited papers, contributed papers and posters. A number of experts have been invited to give presentations on current theoretical and methodological developments of small area estimation, including methods and results of the EURAREA project. Examples of topics of invited papers are:

• Model-assisted and model-dependent estimation for domains,

• Bayesian small area estimation techniques,

• Extensions and alternatives to hierarchical modelling for small area estimation (e.g. combining hierarchical models with autocorrelation, state-space models, spatial econometrics, spatial epidemiology and disease mapping, hierarchical models for cross-classifications),

• Sample design and weighting in the context of small area estimation,

• Case studies of small area estimation in official statistics and research.

Participants are encouraged to submit contributed papers or posters.Topics include (in addition to those mentioned above) for example:

• Design-based versus model-based approaches for small area estimation

• The role of simulation in investigating small area estimation performance,

• Borrowing strength over space and time,

• Updating census cross-classifications,

• Model-misspecification, robustness and diagnostics,

• Methods of estimating variance and covariance parameters,

• Programming small area estimation methods for use in NSI computing environments,

• Urban and rural statistics.