Enhancing the Quality of Data on the Measurement of Income and Wealth

117 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2008

See all articles by F. Thomas Juster

F. Thomas Juster

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Honggao Cao

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Mick P. Couper

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Daniel Hill

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Michael D. Hurd

RAND Corporation; State University of New York at Stony Brook - College of Arts and Science - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Joseph Lupton

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve - Division of Research and Statistics

Michael Perry

affiliation not provided to SSRN

James P. Smith

RAND Corporation; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: January 1, 2007

Abstract

Over the last decade or so, a substantial effort has gone into the design of a series of methodological investigations aimed at enhancing the quality of survey data on income and wealth. These investigations have largely been conducted at the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, and have mainly involved two longitudinal surveys: the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), with a first wave beginning in 1992 and continued thereafter every other year through 2006; and the Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Study, begun in 1993 and continued in 1995 and 1998, then in every other year through 2006.

This paper provides an overview of the main studies and summarizes what has been learned so far. The studies include; a paper by Juster and Smith (Improving the Quality of Economic Data: Lessons from the HRS and AHEAD, JASA, 1997); a paper by Juster, Cao, Perry and Couper (The Effect of Unfolding Brackets on the Quality of Wealth Data in HRS, MRRC Working Paper, WP 2006-113, January 2006); a paper by Hurd, Juster and Smith (Enhancing the Quality of Data on Income: Recent Innovations from the HRS, Journal of Human Resources, Summer 2003); a paper by Juster, Lupton and Cao (Ensuring Time-Series Consistency in Estimates of Income and Wealth, MRRC Working Paper, WP 2002-030, July 2002); a paper by Cao and Juster (Correcting Second-Home Equity in HRS/AHEAD: MRRC Working Paper WP 2004-081, June 2004); and a paper by Rohwedder, Haider and Hurd (RAND Working Paper, 2004).

Suggested Citation

Juster, F. Thomas and Cao, Honggao and Couper, Mick P. and Hill, Daniel and Hurd, Michael D. and Lupton, Joseph P. and Perry, Michael and Smith, James P., Enhancing the Quality of Data on the Measurement of Income and Wealth (January 1, 2007). Michigan Retirement Research Center Research Paper No. WP 2007-151, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1095815 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1095815

F. Thomas Juster (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Honggao Cao

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

500 S. State Street

Mick P. Couper

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

500 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
United States

Daniel Hill

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

500 S. State Street

Michael D. Hurd

RAND Corporation ( email )

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State University of New York at Stony Brook - College of Arts and Science - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Joseph P. Lupton

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Department of Economics ( email )

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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve - Division of Research and Statistics

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Michael Perry

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

James P. Smith

RAND Corporation ( email )

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United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

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Germany