Ecological inference

Ecological Inference and the Ecological Fallacy

In 19th century Europe, suicide rates were higher in countries that were more heavily Protestant, the inference being that suicide was promoted by the social conditions of Protestantism (Durkheim 1897; also see Neeleman and Lewis 1999). According to Carroll (1975), death rates from breast cancer are higher in countries where fat is a larger component of the diet, the idea being that fat intake ...

Inference on Ecological Diversity

Bayesian and Frequentist Inference for Ecological Inference

In this paper we propose Bayesian and frequentist approaches to ecological inference, based on R C contingency tables, including a covariate. The proposed Bayesian model extends the binomial-beta hierarchical model developed by King, Rosen and Tanner (1999) from the 2 2 case to the R C case. As in the 2 2 case, the inferential procedure employs Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. As such, ...

Cross-level/ecological Inference

The cross-level or ecological inference problem has fascinated scholars for nearly a century (Ogburn and Goltra 1919, Allport 1924, Gehlke and Biehl 1934). The problem occurs when one is interested in the behavior of individuals, but has data only at an aggregated level (e.g., precincts, hospital wards, counties). This data limitation creates a situation where the behavior of individuals must b...

Ecological Inference New Methodological Strategies

Ecological inference : new methodological strategies / edited