Estimation of the shape and scale parameters of Pareto distribution using ranked set sampling

In the current paper, the estimation of the shape and location parameters α and c, respectively, of the Pareto distribution will be considered in cases when c is known and when both are unknown. Simple random sampling (SRS) and ranked set sampling (RSS) will be used, and several traditional and ad hoc estimators will be considered. In addition, the estimators of α, when c is known using an RSS version based on the order statistic that maximizes the Fisher information for a fixed set size, will be considered. These estimators will be compared in terms of their biases and mean square errors. The estimators based on RSS can be real competitors against those based on SRS. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013