The Consumer Expenditure 

Survey’s New Design and 

Implementation Plans

Laura Paszkiewicz 

Office of Prices and Living Conditions 

Division of Consumer Expenditure Survey 

FCSM 

November 5, 2013 
Outline 

1. Gemini Project to Redesign CE 

a. Background 

b. Redesign 

c. Road Ahead 

2 
BACKGROUND 
Current CE Design 

Interview 

Consumer Expenditure 

Survey Estimates 

Diary 

- 5 waves of personal interviews 

- 3 month recall 

- Large or recurring expenditures 

- 2 one-week household paper diaries 

- Contemporaneous recall 

- Small, frequently purchased items 
Redesign Motivation 

 Evidence of measurement error 

 Changes in technology and spending behaviors 

 Need for greater operational flexibility 

 High level of burden – linked to data quality 

5 
Redesign Objectives 

 Verifiable reduction in measurement error, with a 

particular focus on underreporting 

 Reduction in burden 

6 
Data Requirements 

 Annual expenditure estimates of total 

household spending for the US population 

 Month of expenditure(s) for each expenditure 

category 

 Data collected at a minimum of two points in 

time, one year apart 

 Minimum set of expenditure/non-expenditure 

data elements from each household 

7 
Required level of detail 

Current Design – 

$41.61 $26.74 $43.81 $109.19 $39.95 

 

Redesign – 

$261.29 
9 

Key Proposal Inputs 

CE relied on several sources for proposal inputs: 

 Expert panels 

 External discussion events 

 Ongoing research on key topics 

 National Academies’ Committee on National 

Statistics (CNSTAT) 

 Westat independent proposal 

 Census staff and Field Representative (FR) input 
DESIGN PROPOSAL 
Post Wave 1 

Non-monetary Incentive:

CE Experience Package

Respondent 

engagement 

mailings

Diary Week

& Records Collection

Advance mailing

Wave 1

Visit 1: Recall Interview

Visit 2: Records Interview

Wave 2

12 months 

between waves

Advance mailing

Visit 1: Recall Interview

Diary Week

& Records Collection

Visit 2: Records Interview
Comparison of Design Features 

Current CE Redesigned CE 

4 interview waves, 1/qtr 

Two, independent Samples 

Household level diary 

Two weeks diary keeping 

More Expenditure Detail 

No incentives 

Paper Diary 

U.S. Civilian noninstitutionalized 

population 

Total Annual expenditures 

3-month Interview recall 

In-person Interviews 

2 interview waves, 12 months apart 

Single, integrated Sample 

Individual Diaries 

One week diary keeping 

Less Expenditure Detail 

Performance-based Incentives 

Web-based diary 
WAVE 1 
15

Visit 1: Personal Interview 
16

Visit 1: Recall-based 

expenditures 
17

Visit 1: Training 
Visit 1: Incentive 
20

Diary Week 
21

Diary: Content 
Diary Week: Incentive(s) 
24

Visit 2: Personal Interview 

+ 
Visit 2: Records-based 

expenditures 

25
Visit 2: Incentive 
WAVE 2 
Design Overview: Wave 2 

28
Design Overview: Future 

Research & Decisions 

Topics addressed during development: 

 Wave 1 and 2 topics: 

 Incentive amounts and structure 

 Exact survey content (records vs. recall) 

 Use of records as data input 

 Length of Wave 1 and Wave 2 visits 

 Diary topics: 

Acceptance of annotated grocery receipts 

 Other topics: 

 When the experience package will be sent 

30
Development & 

Implementation Timeline 

Design Proposal and Planning 

Approved redesign proposal released (July 2013) 

User impact of redesign (July-December 2013) 

Roadmap developed (September 2013) 

Field Tests (Develop, Field, Analyze) 

Individual and Web Diaries (2012-14)

Proof-of-Concept Test (2015) 

Large-Scale Feasibility Test (2018) 

Dress Rehearsal (2021) 

Implementation (2023) 

31
Design Features 

Recommended by CNSTAT 

 One sample design 

 Modular design with a core survey 

 Increased use of technology, especially to 

encourage ‘in the moment’ reporting 

 Increased use of records 

 Reduced proxy reporting 

 Mixed mode data collection 

 Large incentives 

32
Design Features 

Recommended by Westat 

 One sample design 

 Two or three waves of data collection 

 Individual diaries 

 Use of a web-based diary to allow 

respondents to enter data via their Smart 

Phone, tablet or home PC 

 Monitoring of incoming diary data during 

reporting periods with potential interviewer 

interventions 

 Increased use of records 

 Use of respondent-level incentives 

33
34

Design Overview: Major 

Issues Addressed 

1. Incentives  addresses respondent 

motivation 

2. Technology  encourages real-time data 

capture 

3. Individual diaries  reduces proxy reporting 

4. Shortened interview length, reduced survey 

content, and increased record use 

improve data quality 
35

Design Team (past and present) 

 Kathy Downey, formerly Bureau of Labor 

Statistics 

 Jennifer Edgar, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

 Dawn V. Nelson, U.S. Census Bureau 

 Laura Paszkiewicz, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

 Adam Safir, Bureau of Labor Statistics 
Contact Information 

Laura Paszkiewicz 

Senior Economist

Branch of Research and Development 

Consumer Expenditure Survey 

www.bls.gov/cex 

202-691-5119

paszkiewicz.laura@bls.gov