The difficulty of tracking temporary short-term population movements (commuting, seasonal visitation, convention and business travel) is examined, with a focus on Hawaiian statistician Robert Schmitt's work. The author finds that "Schmitt's contributions toward a methodology for estimating daytime populations were important because this approach utilized data sources that were widely available for small areas on at least an annual basis. Consequently, this approach could be used for frequent updates of the estimates, for many areas and at relatively little cost.... The major drawback of the approach is the lack of solid data on temporary residents to serve as larger-area control totals and as a historical base for small-area estimates." The geographical focus is on the United States, particularly Hawaii.
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