Estimating the variances of ratio estimates in complex sample surveys with two primary sampling units per stratum—a comparison of balanced replication and jackknife techniques

The balanced half-sample and jackknife variance estimation techniques are used to estimate the variance of the combined ratio estimate. An empirical sampling study is conducted using computer-generated populations to investigate the variance, bias and mean square error of these variance estimators and results are compared to theoretical results derived elsewhere for the linear case. Results indicate that either the balanced half-sample or jackknife method may be used effectively for estimating the variance of the combined ratio estimate.