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Small area estimation is receiving considerable attention due to the high demand for small area statistics. Small area estimators of means and totals have been widely studied in the literature. Moreover, in the last years also small area estimators of quantiles and poverty indicators have been studied. In contrast, small area estimators of inequality indicators, which are often used in socio-economic studies, have received less attention. In this article, we propose a robust method based on the M-quantile regression model for small area estimation of the Theil index and the Gini coefficient, two popular inequality measures. To estimate the mean squared error a non-parametric bootstrap is adopted. A robust approach is used because often inequality is measured using income or consumption data, which are often non-normal and affected by outliers. The proposed methodology is applied to income data to estimate the Theil index and the Gini coefficient for small domains in Tuscany (provinces by age groups), using survey and Census micro-data as auxiliary variables. In addition, a design-based simulation is carried out to study the behaviour of the proposed robust estimators. The performance of the bootstrap mean squared error estimator is also investigated in the simulation study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Italy was severely hit by COVID-19 during 2020 and great concern about the possible increase of suicide rates in the population has arisen since early pandemic phases. Analyses limited to March–April have shown a drop in suicides in both sexes. This study aims to analyze suicide mortality in Italy during the whole 2020 making comparisons with the pre-pandemic period 2015–19, by sex, age and geographic area. Official cause-of-death data with national coverage were used to analyze suicide mortality by sex, month, age class and geographic area in the population aged ≥10 years (54,595,179). The monthly number of suicide deaths in 2020 was compared to the average number in 2015–19. Age-specific and age-adjusted suicide rates in 2020 and in 2015–19 were compared using rate-ratios with 95 % confidence intervals. Compared to 2015–19 a non-significant reduction of the overall suicide rate was observed during 2020, both in males (−3 %) and females (−7 %). Suicide rates non-significantly decreased in most age groups; an increase, although not statistically significant, was found among males aged ≥75 years and females aged ≥85 years. Suicide deaths reduced mainly in Central-Southern areas and the Islands, while they slightly increased in the North especially among males. Study limitations include accuracy of death certification and the relatively brief observation period. The study contributes to the analysis of early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide mortality in the whole population highlighting sex, age and territorial differences and suggesting to monitor possible increases in a longer observation period. • In Italy, compared to 2015-19 a non-significant reduction of the overall suicide rate was observed in 2020, in both sexes • An increase in suicide rates, although non-significant, was found among males aged ≥75 years and females aged ≥85 years • The variation in the number of suicide deaths during 2020 is not uniform across the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]