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Improving the Collapsing Criteria and 

Nonresponse Adjustment 

of the Consumer Expenditures Survey

Stephen Ash

Price Statistical Methods Division

Office of Prices and Living Conditions

Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology 

2023 Research and Policy Conference

October 24, 2023
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Consumer Expenditure Surveys 

Provides data and estimates on expenditures, 

income, and demographic characteristics of 

consumers in the United States. 

For our research, we focus on the estimates of 

household expenditures.
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Consumer Expenditure Surveys 

Includes two surveys: – Interview Survey collects large or recurring 

expenditures such as refrigerators and utility bills. –Diary Survey collects data on smaller day-to-day 

expenditures such as bread and milk.

Today’s presentation will only address the 

Interview Survey.
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Interview Survey

Rotating panel survey.

4 quarters, one interview every 3 months.

The sample includes about 12,500 addresses 

each quarter.
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Current Nonresponse Adjustment

 Weighting cells approach.

 Partition the sample (both respondents and 

nonrespondents) into cells.

 Calculate the response rates (probability of 

response) within cells.

 The nonresponse adjustment is the inverse of the 

response rate within cells.
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Collapsing Cells

A cell needs to be collapsed when it has at least one nonrespondent 

and it meets any of the following criteria:

1. The cell contains no respondents.

2. The cell contains at least one respondent and it has:

2a. a total of 1-10 sample units and a nonresponse adjustment 

factor greater than 2.15;

2b. or a total of 11-20 sample units and a nonresponse 

adjustment factor greater than 2.35;

2c. or more than 20 sample units and a nonresponse adjustment 

factor greater than 2.6.
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Interview Survey – Distributions of the Historical 

Nonresponse Adjustments
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Research Question

 What values should we use with the collapsing criteria?

Minimum sample size within a cell?

Maximum value of the nonresponse adjustment?

 We considered a single combination of minimum 

sample size and maximum value of the nonresponse 

adjustment.

 Constrained by not changing anything else with the 

nonresponse adjustment.
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Cells of Nonresponse Adjustment

Values Number 

of values Variable Name Description of Variable

MONTH Month of interview 12 01 to 12

Northeast, Midwest, 

South, West

Census Region 4

REGION

Top 10 percent, 

Middle 80 percent, 

Bottom 10 percent

ZIP-code level IRS 3

income of selected 

quintiles

WTIRSINC

Number of contacts 4 1, 2, 3-4, and 5+ contacts

made during 

interviewing

WTNUMCNT

Number of Persons in 4 1, 2, 3-4, and 5+ persons

Consumer Unit WTMEMQ

x 4 x 3 x 4 x 4 = 2,304 possible cells
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90% 

Confidence 

Intervals for 

Response Rates 

by Variables 

used in the 

Nonresponse 

Adjustment
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Distribution of Nonresponse Adjustment based on a 

Logistic Regression Model
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Distribution of Nonresponse Adjustment by Number of 

Contacts
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2021 Estimates of Mean Total Expenditures by Minimum 

Sample Size and Maximum Value of the Nonresponse 

Adjustment
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2021 Standard Errors of Mean Total Expenditures by Minimum 

Sample Size and Maximum Value of the Nonresponse Adjustment
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2021 Interview Survey 

Maximum Value of the 

Nonresponse Adjustment = 8 

and 

Varying Values of Minimum 

Sample Size
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2021 Interview Survey – Comparison of the Production and 

Alternative Nonresponse Adjustments with Maximum Value of 

the Nonresponse Adjustment = 8

p-value

Difference

(AlternativeProduction)

Alternative 

Estimate

Minimum 

Sample 

Size

Production 

Estimate

10 63,072 (773) -110 (184) 0.551

63,181 

(722)

15 63,017 (757) -164 (174) 0.347

20 63,039 (751) -143 (183) 0.436

25 62,991 (753) -190 (182) 0.296

30 62,977 (762) -205 (189) 0.278

35 63,005 (759) -176 (185) 0.341
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2019 Interview Survey – Comparison of the Production and 

Alternative Nonresponse Adjustments with Maximum Value of 

the Nonresponse Adjustment = 8

p-value

Difference

(AlternativeProduction)

Alternative 

Estimate

Minimum 

Sample 

Size

Production 

Estimate

10 58,827 (596) 198 (144) 0.168

58,629 

(572)

15 58,834 (627) 205 (202) 0.311

20 58,731 (602) 102 (163) 0.531

25 58,714 (596) 85 (157) 0.589

30 58,644 (590) 15 (125) 0.905

35 58,633 (592) 4 (130) 0.976
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Recommendations

 Minimum sample size per cell of 10 to 20.

 Maximum value of the nonresponse 

adjustment per cell to 8 to 10. 

 Consider alternative methods of 

nonresponse adjustments.
Contact Information

19 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Stephen Ash

Price Statistical Methods Division

Office of Prices and Living Conditions

ash.stephen@bls.gov