Oct 22
Math/Stats Colloquium: Taylor Okonek, Macalester College
Title: A pseudo-likelihood approach to under-5 mortality estimation
Abstract: Estimates of under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) are an important indicator of the health of a country. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), estimates of U5MR primarily come from probability surveys as opposed to vital registration systems or censuses, and individual observations are subject to both interval- and right-censoring. These data challenges require the use of statistical methodology from both the survey and survival literature in order to produce unbiased estimates of U5MR, while utilizing the full amount of data available. We extend traditional methods from both of these literatures in a pseudo-likelihood approach to estimating U5MR that is more suitable for LMICs than existing demographic methods developed primarily for high-income countries.