Online Program

Finite Population Estimation Under Mark-Recapture Strategy (309937)

Keywords: Accelerated sequential; closed population estimation; mark-recapture; minimum risk; purely sequential

We address the problem of minimum risk point estimation for the size of a closed population using the weighted squared-error loss function with a penalty of cost for each observation, under the well-known mark-recapture strategy. In order to achieve minimum risk, a crucial point is to determine the number of items to obtain in the recapturing phase. We first develop a purely sequential sampling scheme that will require much fewer sampling operations without losing the accuracy of the estimation. Then, we develop a novel practical accelerated sequential method that will further accelerate the whole recapturing process when sampling can be easily done in batches. The stopping rules of both purely sequential and accelerated sequential sampling schemes possess desirable asymptotic properties. All the theoretical findings are validated by extensive data analyses.