Generalized estimating equations

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Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) are used in statistics to fit the parameters of a Generalized linear model where unknown correlation is present.

They allow for correlation without explicitly defining a model for the origin of the dependancy, hence they are most suitable when the random effects and their variances are not of direct interest. The focus is on estimating the average response over the population ("population-averaged" effects) rather than the regression parameters that would enable prediction of the effect of changing one or more components of X on a given individual. GEEs are usually used in conjunction with Huber-White standard errors.