Title: Two Demographic Surveys: Current Population Survey CPS Survey of Income and Program Participation SI
1Two Demographic SurveysCurrent Population
Survey(CPS)Survey of Income and Program
Participation(SIPP)
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2Current Population Survey Some History
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- The 1930s The Great Depression Record levels
of unemployment.? How bad was it? - Policy makers knew that it was bad, but had no
data to base policy on. - Trends Was it getting better or worse, were the
policies working? - By the early 1940s, a Monthly National Labor
Force Survey was initiated jointly with the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census
Bureau. This was the foundation for the CPS,
still run jointly with the Census Bureau and BLS.
3Current Population Survey Design
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- Household addresses are sampled (not people).
Each address is in sample for 8 rotations, and
overlapping samples ensure consistent monthly
national cross-sections of the non-institutional
household population. - The core information used to measure
unemployment, poverty, and other labor force
characteristics were supplemented in the late
1940s with additional topical questions. Some of
the supplements occur yearly and some less often - February (biennially) Supplements about
displaced workers, job tenure, and occupational
mobility - March (yearly) The annual demographic
supplement used for the income and poverty
reports as well as reports on demographic
characteristics - June (biennially) A fertility supplement
- October (yearly) The school enrollment
supplement - November (biennially) A voting supplement
4Current Population Survey Growth
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- During the 1960s the survey was expanded, both
in content and in sample size. - The survey is now seen by many users as a social
survey, but its real purpose remains the
generation of monthly labor force data and
economic indicators data. - Currently upwards of 70,000 households per month
are surveyed many recurring supplements and
reports have been created on many topics. This
is the only large nationally representative
monthly data collection available from the Census
Bureau.
5Survey of Income and Program Participation -
Some History
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- In 1984 the first panel of the Survey of Income
and Program Participation was developed and
fielded. The SIPP was designed as a tool for
measuring family and individual transitions into
and out of assistance programs. - The data available could not answer the questions
of the period what are the federal transfer
programs doing for a family? Are people/families
chronic receivers or do they enter and exit
programs? Cross-sectional data such as that
from the CPS are not able to answer these
questions about program dynamics. A new
Longitudinal survey was developed. - This survey continues to be a significant source
of data to aid in understanding the impact of
welfare reform, labor market dynamics, program
dynamics, and other aspects of family change.
6U S C E N S U S B U R E A U Helping You Make
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Survey of Income and Program Participation -
Design
- Households are sampled and the respondents in
these households are interviewed at 4 month
intervals (waves) for the life of the panel (3-4
years). At each interview detailed household,
family and economic information is collected for
the previous four months (reference period). - Current panels include responses from
approximately 35,000 households, and are 3 year
panels with 9 waves of data collection. - The SIPP core information is used to measure
poverty, program receipt, and other labor force
and family characteristics. As in the CPS the
core information in the SIPP is supplemented with
Topical Modules. - Child care -- Child well-being
- Returns to school -- Marriage history
- Fertility history -- Migration history
- Work history -- Taxes
- Child support -- Recipiency History
- Household Relationships -- Functional
Limitations and Disability - and more.
7Survey of Income and Program Participation - in
comparison
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- While the SIPP data is more complex due to the
amount of data collected it provides much more
detail, and the ability to measure change. The
CPS, a cross-sectional survey (snapshot in time)
can not reflect these dynamics. - For example If the poverty rate remained at 8
percent for two years - The CPS would say that the rate was constant for
those two years, giving cross-sectional
characteristics about the population in poverty
and those receiving assistance. - The SIPP could add that it was different people
making up that 8 percent and that most of the
population in poverty received aid in short
spells, but a small group was receiving
assistance for the entire period. Additionally,
adding information about job spells, family
changes, and changes in other household
characteristics. - At this point the SIPP is the most detailed
source of information about the family economy
and dynamics, the only source for a detailed
marital history for the population over 15, and
one of the best sources for looking at family,
labor force, and program dynamics.
8Survey Products
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- Data products
- Many researchers in academics, the public sector,
and private sector use the data files themselves
to produce exactly the type of table or run the
type of analysis that they need. There are
support services for data users, like users
groups, as well as additional documentation on
the way data are coded and prepared. - Reports and Tables
- The written products are usually intended to
address a topical area such as Income and
Poverty, Families and Living Arrangements, Child
Support, etc, and to relate current information
about these topics to a general audience and to
assist in the dissemination of information. - Tabular products are intended as reference
material for the many audiences. The tables that
are produced contain some of the most often
needed tabulations and are made available to the
public. Tabulations not presented in the
detailed tables would require independent
analysis of the data by the data users.
9A walk through the CPS and SIPP
onhttp//www.census.gov
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The detailed tables contain a lot of additional
information often iterated by race, and showing
more detailed characteristics.
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