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Binary data are often of interest in business surveys, particularly when the aim is to characterize grouping in the businesses making up the survey population. When small area estimates are required for such binary data, use of standard estimation methods based on linear mixed models (LMMs) becomes problematic. We explore two model-based techniques of small area estimation for small area proportions, the empirical best predictor (EBP) under a generalized linear mixed model and the model-based direct estimator (MBDE) under a population-level LMM. Our empirical results show that both the MBDE and the EBP perform well. The EBP is a computationally intensive method, whereas the MBDE is easy to implement. In case of model misspecification, the MBDE also appears to be more robust. The mean-squared error (MSE) estimation of MBDE is simple and straightforward, which is in contrast to the complicated MSE estimation for the EBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Count response data often exhibit departures from the assumptions of standard Poisson generalized linear models. In particular, cluster level correlation of the data and truncation at zero are two common characteristics of such data. This paper describes a random components truncated Poisson model that can be applied to clustered and zero-truncated count data. Residual maximum likelihood method estimators for the parameters of this model are developed and their use is illustrated using a dataset of non-zero counts of sheets with edge-strain defects in iron sheets produced by the Mobarekeh Steel Complex, Iran. The paper also reports on a small-scale simulation study that supports the estimation procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the paper presented by Jon Wakefield to the "Journal of the Royal Statistical Society," regarding the careful modelling of ecological data. Argument for the appropriateness of the binomial likelihood, in many settings; Types of contextual effects allowed by the model presented by Wakefield; Discussion on the connection with ecological regression carried out in spatial epidemiology outlined in a section of his paper.