U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Skip Header


Improved Decision Rules in the Fellegi-Sunter Model of Record Linkage

Written by:
Working Paper Number RR93-12

Abstract

Many applications of the Fellegi-Sunter model use simplifying assumptions and ad hoc modifications to improve matching efficacy. Because of model misspecification, distinctive approaches developed in one application typically cannot be used in other applications and do not always make use of advances in statistical and computational theory. An Expectation-Maximization (EMH) algorithm that constrains the estimates to a convex subregion of the parameter space is given. The EMH algorithm provides probability estimates that yield better decision rules than unconstrained estimates. The algorithm is related to results of Meng and Rubin (1993) on Multi-Cycle Expectation-Conditional Maximization algorithms and make use of results of Haberman (1977) that hold for large classes of loglinear models.

Related Information


Page Last Revised - October 28, 2021
Is this page helpful?
Thumbs Up Image Yes Thumbs Down Image No
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum 255 characters maximum reached
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?

Top

Back to Header