bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A History of The U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey: 1935–36 to 1988–89
Authors: Jacobs Eva , Shipp Stephanie
Published: March 2019

Expenditure patterns of different demographic groups are examined using the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Such information is essential for describing the social and economic situation of the times. This paper outlines and discusses the evolution of the methodology of the Consumer Expenditure Survey in the U.S. and changes in the spending patterns of American families since 1935–36 as revealed by these surveys. Both the collection methodology and results from the survey reflect the society of each era. The survey periods covered are 1935–36, 1960–61, 1972–73, and 1988–89.

The survey has evolved from a relatively short questionnaire where respondents were asked to recall their expenditures over the last year to two separate instruments (weekly diaries and quarterly interviews) with shorter recall periods but, in the case of the interview component, many more detailed questions. This study reveals that over this period there was a significant shift in family budget shares away from food and toward transportation. The distribution of total aggregate spending has remained about the same across quartiles of income.
Manufacturing Establishments Reclassified Into New Industries: The Effect of Survey Design Rules
Authors: McGuckin Robert H. , Peck SuZanne
Published: March 2019

Establishment reclassification occurs when an establishment classified in one industry in one year is reclassified into another industry in another year. Because of survey design rules at the Census Bureau these reclassifications occur systematically over time, and affect the industry-level time series of output and employment. The evidence shows that reclassified establishments occur most often in two distinct years over the life of a sample panel. Switches are not only numerous in these years, they also contribute significantly to measured industry change in industry output and employment. The problem is that reclassifications are not necessarily processed in the year that they occur. The survey rules restrict most change to certain years. The effect of these rules is evidenced by looking at the variance across industry growth rates which increases greatly in these two years. Whatever the reason for reclassifying an establishment, the way the switches are processed raises the possibility of measurement errors in the industry level statistics.

Researchers and policymakers relying upon observations in annual changes in industry statistics should be aware of these systematic discontinuities, discrepancies and potential data distortions.
An Estimation Strategy to Represent the Institutional User Population in the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey
Authors: Cohen Steven B. , Potter D.E.B.
Published: March 2019

The Institutional Population Component (IPC) of the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) was established to provide an assessment of the health care utilization, costs, sources of payment and health insurance coverage of the U.S. institutionalized population residing in nursing and personal care homes (NH), and in facilities for the mentally retarded (MR). The primary objective of the survey was to estimate the use of and expenses for health care services for all persons residing in institutions at any time during calendar year 1987. To obtain a nationally representative sample of the 1987 institutional user population, the survey included a sample of residents residing in selected facilities as of January 1, 1987, in addition to a representative sample of admissions to the selected facilities over the course of 1987. The union of these samples served to represent the 1987 institutional user population.

In this paper, the representation of individuals with multiple probabilities of selection in the IPC sample is examined. In addition, an estimation strategy is developed to correct for the multiple chances of sample selection in the IPC over the course of 1987 and the problems of dual representation in independent sampling frames. The paper also includes a discussion of the effect of this estimation strategy on the precision of sample estimates characterizing the institutional user population.
Multiple Classification Systems for Economic Data: Can a Thousand Flowers Bloom? And Should They?
Authors: McGuckin Robert H.
Published: March 2019

The principle that the statistical system should provide flexibility – possibilities for generating multiple groupings of data to satisfy multiple objectives – if it is to satisfy users is universally accepted. Yet in practice, this goal has not been achieved. This paper discusses the feasibility of providing flexibility in the statistical system to accommodate multiple uses of the industrial data now primarily examined within the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. In one sense, the question of feasibility is almost trivial. With today's computer technology, vast amounts of data can be manipulated and stored at very low cost. Reconfigurations of the basic data are very inexpensive compared to the cost of collecting the data.

Flexibility in the statistical system implies more than the technical ability to regroup data. It requires that the basic data are sufficiently detailed to support user needs and are processed and maintained in a fashion that makes the use of a variety of aggregation rules possible. For this to happen, statistical agencies must recognize the need for high quality microdata and build this into their planning processes. Agencies need to view their missions from a multiple use perspective and move away from use of a primary reporting and collection vehicle.

Although the categories used to report data must be flexible, practical considerations dictate that data collection proceed within a fixed classification system. It is simply too expensive for both respondents and statistical agencies to process survey responses in the absence of standardized forms, data entry programs, etc. I argue for a complete commodity classification– a list of commodities including materials and other intermediate products, services, raw materials, capital equipment, energy inputs, final products and labor by type – as the focus of data collection. The idea is to make the principle variables of interest – the commodities – the vehicle for the collection and processing of the data. For completeness, the basic classification should include labor usage through some form of occupational classification.

In most economic surveys at the Census Bureau, the reporting unit and the classified unit have been the establishment. But there is no need for this to be so. The basic principle to be followed in data collection is that the data should be collected in the most efficient way – efficiency being defined jointly in terms of statistical agency collection costs and respondent burdens.
A New Short-Term County Population Projection Method
Authors: Swanson David A. , Beck Donald M.
Published: March 2019

This paper proposes a new method for short-term county population projections. It is based on a modification of the ratio-correlation method of population estimation. The modified ratio-correlation method can produce projections with a high potential for accuracy without requiring substantial data and intensive intellectual labor inputs. Tests of accuracy are examined for the modified ratio-correlation method and two currently available alternatives using data from Washington state. The tests suggest that the new method performs well. Advantages of the modified ratio-correlation method are discussed, with particular attention given to the formal measurement of uncertainty. Forecast intervals are constructed and examined for the projections constructed for counties in Washington state. Given certain limitations, the forecast intervals appear to be robust in terms of providing accurate assessments of the precision associated with county population projections made using the modified ratio-correlation method.
An Evaluation of the United Nations' Human Development Index
Authors: Acharya Arnab , Wall Howard J.
Published: March 2019

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has devised an index of human development for 130 countries by combining literacy and life expectancy information with income data. The purpose of the index is to provide a measurement of development which does not rely solely on economic indicators. The present paper improves on this notion and provides two alternative indices of human development and their corresponding development rankings. We improve on the work of the UNDP by avoiding several methodological inconsistencies of the UNDP index. Also, comparative evaluations of the three rankings are provided.
Opportunities for Geographic Research with the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Authors: Bailey Adrian J.
Published: March 2019

Although the 1980s were to be the era of longitudinal analysis little geographic research has taken advantage of longitudinal data. One reason is because geographers require data-sets which contain both information on residential histories and information which is geographically representative. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) meets both requirements and can support important geographic research.
Comparing Public and Private Earnings Using State Wage Surveys
Authors: Belman Dale , Franklin Thomas E. , Heywood John S.
Published: March 2019

This paper shows how state wage surveys can be used to compare the earnings of public and private sector workers within states. This subject of long-running interest to economists has generated a complex and sometimes contradictory set of empirical results. Surprisingly little, if any, of this academic work has used the publicly available wage surveys that many states routinely collect. This paper serves as an introduction to such surveys and an application of the Wisconsin State Wage Survey for the purpose of comparing public and private compensation. While the evidence generally indicates public earnings are higher, we are careful to point out the limitations of our methodology which suggests this conclusion is incomplete.
Reexamining Involuntary Part-Time Employment
Authors: Stratton Leslie S.
Published: March 2019

Official statistics indicate that involuntary part-time employment (part-time employment theoretically accepted only because full-time employment is not available) has more than tripled over the last twenty years, increasing substantially more rapidly than even unemployment and now encompassing about three million workers. The goal of this study is to examine the empirical definition of involuntary part-time employment, and to see how sensitive the level and trend in involuntary part-time employment are to the particular definition employed. Results suggest that official estimates of involuntary part-time employment may be high – perhaps 50% too high. While the level is quite sensitive, the alarming trend in involuntary part-time employment is robust to a variety of alternative empirical definitions.
Whose Vital Events Are They? The Effect of Immigration on the Estimation of Fertility and Marital History Data from Retrospective Surveys
Authors: O'Connell Martin , Miller Louisa
Published: March 2019

Retrospective surveys are important for documenting vital events in historical time periods. The assumption used in these analyses is that the information reported at the time of the interview portrays a representative picture of past events. Using the Census Bureau's 1990 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this paper examines the potential problems encountered in deriving retrospective statistics when immigrants — who married or had children outside of the U.S. — constitute a significant proportion of survey respondents. The inclusion of these “immigrated” vital events in the survey resulted in (1) underestimating the mean age at first marriage for all Hispanics in the survey by 0.4 years, and (2) overestimating the premarital first birth ratio for Asians by 50 percent. Given likely future continued immigration from Latin America and Asia, these results suggest that future surveys should include migration histories in order to enable the survey to produce accurate retrospective statistics for these groups.
The Measurement of Current Cost Data: Implications for Economic Analyses
Authors: Shriver Keith A.
Published: March 2019

Many researchers, users, preparers, and regulators of financial and economic data are advocating the utilization of enhanced valuation models to improve both macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses. The purpose of this article is to review and analyze the research on the measurement of current cost (CC) data in the financial accounting and reporting literatures. This review includes an analysis of the accounting research on the measurement of CC data for new assets, used assets, and depreciation. The research suggests that, in general, an overstatement bias exists in the CC estimates of industrial machinery and equipment. This bias, however, could be substantially reduced or virtually eliminated by the adoption of a tax adjusted fundamental value (FV) model. These findings should be useful to economic researchers and economic policy institutions in their attempts to measure the capital stock, projected capital expenditures, and capital consumption adjustments for various firms, industries, and the economy as a whole.
Capital Stock Depreciation, Tax Rules, and Composition of Aggregate Investment
Authors: Levy Daniel
Published: March 2019

I estimate time varying aggregate capital stock depreciation rates for the post-war U.S. economy using capital-investment evolution equation along with the data on the annual net capital stock and corresponding quarterly gross investment series. I estimate depreciation rates of consumer durable goods, producer durable goods, and nonresidential business structures. The estimation results suggest that the three depreciation rate series have been behaving very differently over time. In particular, I find that over time the implied depreciation rate of nonresidential business structures has remained stable, the implied depreciation rate of consumer durable goods has been steadily declining, while the implied depreciation rate of producer durable goods has been increasing, especially during the last 10–15 years. These findings are interpreted in terms of the changes in the composition of the aggregate nonresidential business fixed and producer durable good capital stocks. In addition, I discuss the implications of the changes introduced during the 1980s in rules and regulations governing a depreciation accounting for tax purposes, and their effect on the estimates of capital depreciation rates derived in this paper. The main argument the paper makes is that technological progress may be leading to accelerated depreciation of producer durable goods and equipment since newer and more advanced technology makes older equipment obsolete. The empirical evidence reported in this paper supports this argument.
Mapping the Household
Authors: Brynin Malcolm , Smith Rachel
Published: March 2019

There are good reasons for wishing to record household relationships as precisely as possible, particularly in panel surveys. Change in the composition of the household has an effect on individual welfare. A household might be stable for many years or change composition several times in a matter of months. Analysis of the causes and effect of such transitions is critical to much social science. Precision in measurement and development of variables based on this is therefore equally critical. This article describes the development of a new form of household enumeration for use in the British Household Panel Survey. We first briefly describe the data-collection methods tested to fix household membership, and then their value as data-processing tools. Finally, a household relationship variable derived from these new methods is included in a multivariate analysis of financial allocative arrangements within the household. This shows distinctive patterns for households containing step-children, or other non nuclear extensions.
The development and assessment of census-based measures of AFDC and SSI recipiency
Authors: Van Hook Jennifer V.W. , Bean Frank D. , Glick Jennifer E.
Published: March 2019

Policy relevant social and economic research that involves comparing rates of public assistance receipt among various groups must rely extensively on the U.S. Census Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) for reasons of sample size. For instance, the PUMS is the only data source that contains a sufficient number of cases to examine patterns of welfare receipt among immigrant groups disaggregated by national origin. The usage of census data, however, suffers two drawbacks. One is that the PUMS does not ascertain the program (AFDC, SSI, General Assistance) from which recipients report having received payments. The other is that little is known about the accuracy of census measures of public assistance receipt. This paper develops and presents a procedure to estimate AFDC and SSI receipt based on the correspondence between the recipient's characteristics and the eligibility criteria for these programs. The research also assesses the accuracy of estimates of the number of persons receiving any kind of cash public assistance (the presently available measure), as well as the number receiving AFDC and SSI (the new measures presented here). The results indicate that census data provide very satisfactory assessments of levels of SSI usage and assessments of levels of AFDC usage that are adequate for some analytic purposes.
Discrimination due to race and gender in the youth labor market: is it a double jeopardy?
Authors: Sharpe Deanna L. , Abdel-Ghany Mohamed
Published: March 2019

A wage decomposition method is used to examine components of average wage differentials in the youth labor market, letting both race and gender vary. Issues of selection bias and computation of the nondiscriminatory wage are addressed. Findings indicate that bias in the youth labor market focuses more on gender than race. However, until researchers devise consistent methods of estimating the source, amount, and direction of discrimination, policy makers face difficulty devising procedures to correct discriminatory wage differences.
A theory of measuring fixed capital flows and stocks
Authors: Hwang Jang C.
Published: March 2019

This paper presents a theoretical perpetual inventory model for measuring both the quantity and price sides of fixed capital flows and stocks. Because conventional models only measure the quantity side of fixed capital flows and stocks, it is difficult to fit the economic depreciation variable into the models. This paper provides a clear picture of how physical depreciation and economic depreciation are applied to the quantity side and price side of the model. The new model presented in this paper also generalizes the conventional model. In any case, the conventional model which uses the deflator of the gross fixed capital formation as the deflator of all fixed capital flows and stocks is questionable.
Do expenditures explain income? A study of variables for income imputation
Authors: Paulin Geoffrey D. , Ferraro David L.
Published: March 2019

Income data in the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey are subject to nonresponse. Model-based imputation is being explored to diminish missing data problems. Since income is an important variable in predicting expenditures, might expenditures be useful in predicting incomes? Incomes from wages and salaries and self-employment are modeled. These results are compared to regressions on demographic characteristics alone. Although each expenditure category adds to the predictive power of the model, total expenditures adds the most.
Recent nursing home data: a multivariate analysis of two-repeated cross-sectional surveys of the institutionalized aged
Authors: Corder Larry S. , Manton Kenneth G.
Published: March 2019

Longitudinal changes in the characteristics of the nursing home population as represented in the most recent National Nursing Home Surveys (NNHS) were analyzed (1977 and 1985). This period is characterized by major changes in the delivery and financing of long term care services. These surveys of nursing home residents, staff, and facilities were used to examine aged nursing home resident's characteristics using the Grade of Membership (GoM) model. GoM searches for regularities both in profiles of the variables and in the grouping of cases [12]. Seven profiles explained individual variation in the health and functioning of the elderly (65+) nursing home population over time. Age heterogeneity in nursing home residents, and age-related clustering of medical conditions and functional status, were found. In the 1985 NNHS, a younger sick group and a young male group emerge for the first time as identifiable nursing home patient groups.
An estimation strategy for the combined population represented by the NMES household and nursing home surveys
Authors: Cohen Steven B. , Potter D.E.B.
Published: March 2019

The National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) Household Survey was designed to produce national estimates of the health care utilization, expenditures, insurance coverage and source of payments for the civilian non-institutional population in 1987. The NMES Nursing Home Component of the Institutional Population Survey was designed to produce comparable estimates for the population resident in nursing and personal care homes in 1987. Individuals who were admitted to nursing and personal care homes from the community in 1987 were dually represented in the NMES Household and Nursing and Personal Care Home Surveys. This paper presents the estimation strategy adopted in NMES to allow for population estimates of the combined population represented by these component surveys. Particular attention will be given to the derivation of per capita and total health care expenditure estimates that characterize the union of the population in the community and in institutions over the course of 1987. Limitations with respect to the estimation strategy, as a consequence of the NMES survey design are also discussed.
Using the pollution abatement costs and expenditures micro data for descriptive and analytic research
Authors: Streitwieser Mary L.
Published: March 2019

The Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures survey (PACE) is an annual survey of manufacturing establishment's operating costs and capital investment expenditures for pollution abatement purposes. This paper provides a description and evaluation of the PACE micro data available at the Center for Economic Studies (CES). This paper provides an overview of the survey, how the sample is drawn, how the survey questionnaire has changed over time, an assessment of the data quality, and suggestions for the use of the data, as well as its limitations.

This paper also discusses the advantages of using the micro data for descriptive and analytic research when integrated with economic data from the US Bureau of the Census and emissions data from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Examples of recent and analytic research are cited throughout.
The form and rate of physical depreciation in Canadian industries
Authors: Hwang Jang C.
Published: March 2019

Economic depreciation has been studied extensively by many researchers, but there are very few studies on physical depreciation. The voluminous empirical research studies on economic depreciation in economic literature indicate that economic depreciation is much easier to estimate than physical depreciation. There are some differences in the measurement of physical depreciation between the engineering and the economic point of view. An asset in its early age may have to be retired because of economic reasons due to technological change. This makes the empirical measurement of physical depreciation even more difficult. In this paper, we derive a formula which can transform economic depreciation into physical depreciation. The transformation will provide us a consistent measurement of physical depreciation vis-a-vis economic depreciation.

Two different parametric forms are also studied in this paper. The almost perfect match between the Box–Cox power transformation form and the converted form of physical depreciation further proves that the former is one of the most flexible functional forms especially well suited to the problem of analyzing depreciation patterns. The estimated curvature parameter of the Beta-decay form is negative for all Canadian industry components. The convex form of physical depreciation of the Canadian experience is contrary to the concave forms assumed by the Bureaus of Labor Statistics of the US in its capital stock estimates for the input-output industries.
An examination of the relative reliability of changing prices income data
Authors: Jackson Steven R. , Shriver Keith A. , Wheeler Stephen W.
Published: March 2019

Recent studies by researchers, users, preparers, and regulators indicate a renewed interest in the financial reporting of changing prices. The purpose of this paper is to extend prior research in this area and to examine the relative reliability of various changing prices income data. An econometric index of measurement error is utilized to compare the relative reliability of historical cost nominal dollar, historical cost constant dollar, and current cost nominal dollar incomes from continuing operations during the 1979–1983 time period. The results indicate that the current cost nominal dollar income measure was more reliable than the historical cost nominal dollar income measure for several years. These results are consistent with the variety of present proposals to enhance the financial reporting of changing prices in the USA.
Changing population weights in a decomposable poverty index
Authors: DeFina Robert H.
Published: March 2019

A distribution-sensitive poverty measure developed by Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke has several characteristics which strongly recommend its use in applied poverty analysis. This article expands its usefulness by deriving an analytical expression that exactly decomposes a change in the index into: 1) growth due to population-share changes; and, 2) growth due to within-group poverty changes. It also adjusts the basic index to allow for multiple poverty lines, as are used in the United States. The theoretical framework is applied to Current Population Survey data to examine how U.S. population-share changes in industry, race, and family-structure categories have contributed to growth in the index between 1979 and 1996. The effects of these structural shifts have been a special concern to policy makers throughout the past decade. Resulting computations indicate that these share changes have played only a minor role. Most of index's growth instead stems from within-group poverty increases.
Some numerical aspects of nonlinear estimation
Authors: McCullough B.D. , Renfro Charles G.
Published: March 2019

Given a nonlinear estimation problem, it is well-known that one algorithm might produce a solution where another algorithm might fail. What is less well-known is that when both algorithms do produce solutions, one of the solutions might be more accurate than the other. In particular, one might give several accurate digits, while the other gives no accurate digits. Possible sources of the phenomenon are presented, including step-length, stopping rule, convergence criterion and method of derivative calculation. Additionally, practical advice for using nonlinear solvers is offered.
Using administrative records to assess earnings reporting error in the survey of income and program participation
Authors: Pedace Roberto , Bates Nancy
Published: March 2019

This paper analyzes income misreporting propensities and magnitudes using the 1992 SIPP longitudinal file matched to Social Security Summary Earnings Records. Specifically, we focus on wage and salary and self-employment earnings. Our findings suggest that the 1992 SIPP accurately estimates the net number of earnings recipients, but tends to underestimate the amounts received. The misreporting pattern reveals that respondents on the lowest end of the income distribution tend to overreport earnings, while those at the higher end of the earnings distribution are more likely to underreport earnings. Additionally, it is shown that demographic characteristics can be used in a predictive model of misreporting, but they explain a larger fraction of the variation in overreporting than underreporting.
Measuring housing services inflation
Authors: Crone Theodore M. , Nakamura Leonard I. , Voith Richard
Published: March 2019

Recent papers have questioned the accuracy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' methodology for measuring rent increases and changes in implicit rents for owner-occupied housing. We cross-check the BLS statistics using data on owner-occupied and rental housing from the American Housing Survey. A hedonic approach that explicitly calculates capitalization rates produces a methodologically consistent measure of the rental equivalent of owner-occupied housing services. We find that between 1985 and 1993 the Consumer Price Index overstated the increase in the cost of owner-occupied housing services by more than 10 percentage points and underestimated the increase in rents by almost six percentage points. The increase in the cost of housing services for renters and homeowners combined was overestimated by 0.6 percent a year between 1985 and 1993.
Specification issues in measurement of quality of medical care using risk adjusted outcomes
Authors: Mukamel Dana B. , Dick Andrew , Spector William D.
Published: March 2019

Governments and private organizations have recently begun publishing "report cards" that compare quality of hospitals, physicians and health care plans. Often these reports include quality measures based on risk adjusted health outcomes of the patients treated by each health care provider. The use of these measures is, however, controversial due to concerns about their accuracy. To-date, concerns focused on the risk adjustment methodology and small sample sizes. We raise an additional issue related to the definition of quality measures as either the difference between observed and predicted outcome rates or the ratio between these rates. A theoretical analysis of the properties of the two measures is presented. Monte Carlo simulations quantify the effects identified in the theoretical analysis. We show that the two risk adjusted outcome measures of quality may lead to different conclusions about relative quality among providers. Which measure should be used depends on the underlying relationship between patient risks and quality of care in determining health outcomes. For the case replicating the HCFA hospital mortality statistics, the percent of true outliers identified by the incorrect measure ranges from 64% 78%. than health care, where performance is measured based on outcomes.
Measuring absolute and relative poverty: The sensitivity of estimated household consumption to survey design
Authors: Jolliffe Dean
Published: March 2019

This paper illustrates that questionnaire design significantly affects estimates of household consumption and absolute poverty. In a between-groups designed experiment in El Salvador, longer, more detailed questions on consumption result in an estimate of mean, household consumption that is 31 percent greater than the estimate derived from a condensed version of the questionnaire. The distribution of household consumption from the long questionnaire first-order stochastically dominates the distribution from the short questionnaire over 96 percent of the range of the distribution. This difference in estimated consumption results in a measure of absolute, severe poverty from the short questionnaire that is 46 percent greater than the estimate derived from the long questionnaire. In contrast, the level of relative poverty is unaffected by the changes in questionnaire design. An implication of this paper is that modifications over time to questionnaires will result in spurious estimates of change in consumption and absolute poverty levels.
Additive decompositions for Fisher, Törnqvist and geometric mean indexes
Authors: Reinsdorf Marshall B. , Diewert W. Erwin , Ehemann Christian
Published: March 2019

Users of a price or quantity index often want to know how much each item in the index contributes to its overall change. Consequently, statistical agencies generally publish items' contributions to changes in the indexes that they publish. For fixed basket index formulas, calculating contributions to index change that add up to the correct total is straightforward, but for Fisher, Törnqvist and geometric mean index formulas -- which statistical agencies are beginning to use -- it is not. We use economic and axiomatic approaches to derive additive decompositions of the change in a Fisher index, and we use an axiomatic approach to derive an additive decomposition of the change in a Törnqvist or geometric mean index.
Measuring ambulatory health care use in the United States: A comparison of 1996 estimates across four federal surveys
Authors: Machlin Steven R. , Valluzzi Janet L. , Chevarley Frances M. , Thorpe Joshua M.
Published: March 2019

The US Department of Health and Human Services currently sponsors a number of national surveys that have different primary objectives and methodologies, but all can be used in different ways to produce general estimates of the use of ambulatory care in the United States. Among these surveys are the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Through a comparison of 1996 survey estimates, this paper describes important methodological considerations when using these different data sources for measuring ambulatory use. This paper complements a previous article comparing estimates of hospital inpatient utilization across several federal data sources.
Output, income and welfare of nations: Concepts and measurement
Authors: Hillinger Claude
Published: March 2019

The paper discusses conceptual errors in the methodologies for computing the national income and product accounts (NIPAs). Recent changes in methodology introduced by the statistical agencies have not touched some of these deficiencies and in other cases have substituted new problems for old ones. Unresolved conceptual problems involve the computation of GDP sectors in real terms, the definition of the GDP deflator and real national income, among others. The paper is addressed to: (a.) the producers of NIPA statistic, hoping to motivate them to improve their methods, (b.) the users of these statistics who should know exactly what they are getting and make optimal choices among the available alternatives. The paper also clarifies some general issues pertaining to the construction of price and quantity indexes.
Direct and indirect time dummy approaches to hedonic price measurement
Authors: de Haan Jan
Published: March 2019

This paper has two aims. First, it shows how the time dummy method to adjust for quality changes fits into the methodology of statistical agencies applying a geometric mean price index formula at the elementary aggregation level. Second, the paper argues that the ordinary or direct time dummy approach cannot cope with systematic price effects of new and disappearing products. Several'indirect' alternatives are discussed in which the time dummy coefficient serves as a common adjustment factor and in which systematic effects of new or disappearing products are explicitly taken into account. Special attention is paid to the role of the sampling design, in particular proportional to expenditure sampling.
Data sources for the estimation of hierarchical models of individual mortality outcomes
Authors: Blanchard Troy C. , Levin Martin L. , Cossman Jeralynn S.
Published: March 2019

In this paper we develop a method for the hierarchical analysis of individual mortality outcomes by pooling data from the Census of Population and Housing Public Use Microdata Samples and Multiple Cause of Death files. This methodology provides a data source for estimating hierarchical event history models that incorporate spatial context into the modeling of mortality outcomes. The implementation of this method will provide researchers a means for understanding how structural factors that cannot be measured by aggregations of individual-level characteristics, such as health infrastructure, community organization, and physical environment, condition health disparities across rural and urban portions of the US.
Rymes' measure of productivity growth: The static and the dynamic view
Authors: Durand René
Published: March 2019

We show in this brief note that Rymes' [9-11] static index of multifactor productivity growth in which capital goods are considered as endogenous produced inputs may equivalently be expressed in a dynamic growth accounting framework that is fully consistent with modern growth theory, both of the exogenous (Solow [13]) or endogenous [3] variety
Integrated survey designs: A framework for nonresponse bias reduction
Authors: Cohen Steven B.
Published: March 2019

The quality and data content of household specific health surveys are often enhanced through integrated designs which include the conduct of follow back surveys to medical providers and facilities that have provided care to household respondents. In terms of data quality, household reported medical conditions can be evaluated for accuracy relative to provider specific records on medical conditions for the same patient and specific health events. With respect to health care expenditures collected from household respondents for their reported health care events, available linked medical provider level data is a more accurate source of information. The availability of such supplemental data on use and expenditures allows for the conduct of methodological studies to evaluate the accuracy of household reported data and informs adjustment strategies to household data in the absence of provider specific data to reduce bias attributable to response error. In this paper, the capacity of integrated survey designs to achieve reductions in bias attributable to survey nonresponse is discussed. Examples are drawn from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey(MEPS), an ongoing longitudinal panel survey designed to produce estimates of health care utilization, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage of the US civilian non-institutionalized population.
An examination of skewed health expenditure data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Authors: Yu William W. , Machlin Steven R.
Published: March 2019

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC) is designed to provide nationally representative annual estimates of health care use, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage for the US civilian noninstitutionalized population. The expenditure data from MEPS have been shown to exhibit a marked positive skewness, with a few high expenditure respondents and many low or zero expenditure respondents. As a consequence of this departure from the normal distribution, the frequency with which a conventional confidence interval for a MEPS expenditure estimate will not capture the true population parameter may be higher than the probability stated for the confidence interval. Based on repeated sample simulations using data from the 1996 to 2001 MEPS-HC, this paper evaluates and compares the actual probability achieved for confidence intervals derived from expenditure data by types of expenditure and varying sample sizes. The results are also compared to estimated confidence probabilities obtained from repeated sample simulations for other types of variables that do not exhibit as marked a positive skewness as health care expenditures.
A change of PACE: Comparing the 1994 and 1999 Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures surveys
Authors: Becker Randy A. , Shadbegian Ronald J.
Published: March 2019

Since 1973, the Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures (PACE) survey has been the principle source of information on US industries' capital expenditure and operating costs associated with pollution abatement efforts. The PACE survey was discontinued after 1994 and then revived and substantially revised in 1999, making longitudinal analysis quite difficult. Conceptual differences include matters as fundamental as the scope and meaning of pollution abatement as well as the definition of operating costs. Other critical changes include industrial coverage and sample selection. This paper is the first to comprehensively document the many changes in the PACE survey across these years and to provide detailed guidance to researchers and policymakers wishing to compare the 1994 and 1999 data. Overall, we find environmental spending by the manufacturing sector declined 27% between these years, with significant heterogeneity across industries. We discuss potential reasons for this dramatic decline, focusing mainly on survey methodology and design.
The use of monetary incentives in federal surveys on substance use and abuse
Authors: Kulka Richard A. , Eyerman Joe , McNeeley Madeline E.
Published: March 2019

Incentive payments to survey respondents have been used extensively for many years to improve survey response rates. There is considerable research evidence supporting the value of compensation for increasing cooperation and improving the speed and quality of response in a broad range of data collection efforts. This paper examines current issues in the use of monetary incentives in sample surveys, including a review of the literature concerning the direct and indirect impact of incentives on survey statistics, and the practical and operational issues for their use. This paper also examines the two recent experiments conducted to assess the effectiveness of incentives in studies of substance use– the Alcohol and Drug Services Study and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. These studies are reviewed in light of the current issues identified in the literature. They are described in detail in the companion papers included in this issue of the Journal of Social and Economic Measurement.
The decomposition of inter-group differences in a logit model: Extending the Oaxaca-Blinder approach with an application to school enrolment in India
Authors: Borooah Vani K. , Iyer Sriya
Published: March 2019

This paper suggests a method of decomposing differences in inter-group probabilities from a logit model and shows how it can be related to similar decompositions derived from a Oaxaca-Blinder framework. In so doing, it offers a solution to a problem, embedded within the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, relating to the appropriate choice of common coefficient vectors with which to evaluate the different attribute vectors. The decomposition method also shows how pair-wise comparisons of groups might be conducted in the presence of more than two groups, without discarding the information on groups excluded from the comparison. The proposed method is applied to inter-group differences in schooling participation in India and the results are compared with the Oaxaca-Blinder method. The decomposition is applied specifically to inter-group differences in the enrolment of boys at school in India.
Econometric modeling at mixed frequencies
Authors: Klein Lawrence R. , Kushnirsky Fyodor I.
Published: March 2019

We design a methodology for combining high frequency (e.g., monthly) and low frequency (e.g., annual) econometric systems. Our goal is to demonstrate how a high frequency model can be used for periodic adjustments of selected indicators in a low frequency model. The methodology includes a theoretical foundation, methods for the adjustment of model structures and properties, procedures for achieving mutually consistent solutions, and step-by-step applications. The computational procedures are based on: (a) employment of a loss function in order to force the solution of the low frequency model to come close to the solution of the high frequency model and (b) obtaining a joint solution by inserting the values of key variables exogenously from the high into the low frequency model. To illustrate the application, we use simplified monthly and annual macroeconometric models for Ukraine. We also demonstrate a convenient computational procedure for solving a model that combines econometric and input-output structures having the same frequency.
Census data for transportation planning, analysis, and implementation
Authors: Rohanna Kristen , Tayman Jeff
Published: March 2019

Transportation has long relied on the decennial census to provide critical information including detailed worker characteristics and journey-to-work flows needed to plan, analyze, manage, and implement transportation systems and programs. The Census Bureau has implemented an on-going annual survey program, The American Community Survey (ACS), to produce the detailed transportation information traditionally gathered once a decade through the census long form. In May 2005, a conference entitled Census Data for Transportation Planning: Preparing for the Future was held in Irvine California. The main objectives of that conference were to: 1) demonstrate applications of 2000 Census data in transportation; 2) review the ACS and assess its usefulness for transportation; 3) recommend improvements to census products and methods; and 4) recommend actions that federal, state, and regional agencies and the Census Bureau can take to improve the use of census transportation products. This paper, summarizing and building on the conference, discusses census information from the perspective of the transportation community. It looks at uses of census data, presents key issues related to the efficacy of the ACS for transportation, presents possible solutions to issues with current data programs, and concludes with suggestions that should enhance the value of census data for transportation.
The roots of conflict over US census counts in the late 20th century and prospects for the 21st century
Authors: Walashek Paula J. , Swanson David A.
Published: March 2019

Although not originally intended as such, the US census has become a "Commons" in which private benefits are gained at the expense of public costs. The historical development of the census as a Commons first clearly emerged with the release of the 1970 census results, and since that time contentious litigation over census undercount error has become a standard part of the decennial census landscape. Political battles within the federal government have gone hand-in-hand with these litigation activities. They culminated with a Supreme Court decision on the legality of statistically adjusting census 2000 counts for estimated undercount error. As these battles raged, professional interest in providing methodological fixes for net census undercount error increased while public participation in the census generally declined. This paper examines the history behind these legal battles, the legislative acts, and judicial decisions that led to the 16th Amendment and the loss of the careful balance between public costs and private benefits crafted by the Founding Fathers in Article I of the Constitution. The paper identifies the role that historical actions played in making the census into a Commons, thereby setting the stage for modern day census litigation and other forms of conflict. We observe that as a Commons, the census is facing a potential collapse that cannot be prevented by methodological developments. We conclude by noting that a course of political action may be the best course for preventing such a collapse.
Data aggregation and estimates of persistence
Authors: Bação Pedro
Published: March 2019

This paper studies the relation between different formulas for computing aggregate price indices and estimates of inflation persistence. The relevance of"aggregation bias" for policy making is discussed. We show that "aggregation bias" may not be a concern for a cautious policy-maker. We also show that chained indices are likely to be preferred by econometricians, rather than log-aggregates.