Adaptive Design Strategies for Nonresponse Follow-Up in Economic Surveys

The U.S. Census Bureau is investigating nonrespondent subsampling strategies for use in the 2017 Economic Census. In previous research, we developed an optimized allocation procedure for subsampling nonrespondents that selects larger systematic samples in domains with lower initial response. This article expands on our previous research by exploring improvements to the optimal allocation method; we investigate refinements to the previous procedure that incorporate measures of respondent balance with respect to the original sample. The revised allocation procedures have simultaneous objectives of allocating high proportions of sample in domains that indicate potential nonresponse bias and of equalizing response rates across domains. We examine the effects of the alternative allocation approaches on Horvitz-Thompson estimates via a simulation study using data from the 2014 Annual Survey of Manufactures.