Enumeration area imputation methods for producing sub-municipal data in the Italian permanent population and housing census

Abstract

Over the years, official statistics have shown an increasing territorial focus on providing detailed and quality information. The Population and Housing Census has always ensured the availability of sub-municipal data useful for social, economic, and environmental decision-making processes. The new Italian Permanent Census focuses heavily on the integration of administrative and sample data and plans to provide more stable and consistent statistical data at the various territorial levels every year. Within this framework, sub-municipal data are derived from the integration of the Base Register of Individuals and the Base Register of Places. Data accuracy depends on the quality of the registers and the procedures adopted to integrate and process the input data. In this regard, Istat is working to improve geocoding information and linking procedures. One of the problems encountered is the presence of non-geocoded units due to problems in the administrative data. Istat has studied a procedure that integrates deterministic and probabilistic approaches to assign the enumeration area code to these critical units. It was conducted an experimental study to assess the quality of the imputation procedure. In this paper, we discuss the approach adopted, the evaluation process, the results obtained, and the impact on data quality.