On the use of machine learning methods for the treatment of unit nonresponse in surveys

Music City Center 

In recent years, there has been a significant interest in machine learning in national statistical ones. Thanks to their flexibility, these methods may prove useful at the nonresponse treatment stage.
After an introduction to statistical learning procedures, we will discuss some of the advantages and challenges associated with their use for the treatment of unit nonresponse. We will discuss the relationship between precise predictions and precise estimation. The results of an extensive simulation study will be presented to illustrate these points. Finally, the problem of selecting or aggregating several statistical learning procedures will be discussed.

Survey sampling

Nonresponse

Propensity score estimation

Aggregation