DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09820.v2
title: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1990: Interview Survey
title: Version 2

description: The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides a 
 continuous flow of information on the buying habits of American 
 consumers and also furnishes data to support periodic revisions of the 
 Consumer Price Index. The survey consists of two separate components: 
 (1) a quarterly Interview Survey in which each consumer unit in the 
 sample is interviewed every three months over a 15-month period, and 
 (2) a Diary Survey completed by the sample consumer units for two 
 consecutive one-week periods. The Interview Survey was designed to 
 collect data on major items of expense, household characteristics, and 
 income. The expenditures covered by the survey are those that 
 respondents can recall fairly accurately for three months or longer. In 
 general, these expenditures include relatively large purchases, such as 
 those for property, automobiles, and major appliances, or expenditures 
 that occur on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utilities, or 
 insurance premiums. Expenditures incurred while on trips are also 
 covered by the survey. Excluded are nonprescription drugs, household 
 supplies, and personal care items. Including global estimates on 
 spending for food, it is estimated that about 90 to 95 percent of 
 expenditures are covered in the Interview Survey. The Consumer Unit 
 Characteristics and Income (FMLY) files in this collection contain 
 consumer unit characteristics, consumer unit income, and 
 characteristics and earnings of both the reference person and the 
 spouse. Summary expenditure data are also provided. The Member 
 Characteristics and Income (MEMB) files present selected 
 characteristics for each consumer unit member, including reference 
 person and spouse. Each record in the FMLY and MEMB files consists of 
 three months of data. Detailed Expenditures (MTAB) files provide 
 monthly data at the Universal Classification Code (UCC) level. In these 
 files expenditures for each consumer unit are classified according to 
 UCC categories and are specified as gifts or non-gifts. There may be 
 more than one record for a UCC in a single month if that is what was 
 reported to the interviewer. The Income (ITAB) files supply monthly 
data at the UCC level for consumer unit characteristics and income.
description: The Consumer Expenditure Survey is based on a national 
 probability sample of households. Households are selected from primary 
 sampling units (PSUs), which consist of counties (or parts thereof), 
 groups of counties, or independent cities. The set of sample PSUs used 
 for the survey is composed of 101 areas, of which 85 urban areas have 
 also been selected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Consumer 
 Price Index program. The sampling frame from which housing units were 
 selected was generated from the 1980 Census 100-percent detail file, 
 augmented by new construction permits and coverage improvement 
 techniques used to eliminate recognized deficiencies in that census. 
 The sample design is a rotating panel survey in which one-fifth of the 
 sample is dropped and a new group added each quarter. Each panel is 
 interviewed for five consecutive quarters and then dropped from the 
survey.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: 1990 First Quarter: Family Characteristics and Income
DS2: 1990 First Quarter: Member Characteristics and Income
DS3: 1990 First Quarter: Monthly Expenditures
DS4: 1990 First Quarter: Monthly Income
DS5: 1990 Second Quarter: Family Characteristics and Income
DS6: 1990 Second Quarter: Member Characteristics and Income
DS7: 1990 Second Quarter: Monthly Expenditures
DS8: 1990 Second Quarter: Monthly Income
DS9: 1990 Third Quarter: Family Characteristics and Income
DS10: 1990 Third Quarter: Member Characteristics and Income
DS11: 1990 Third Quarter: Monthly Expenditures
DS12: 1990 Third Quarter: Monthly Income
DS13: 1990 Fourth Quarter: Family Characteristics and Income
DS14: 1990 Fourth Quarter: Member Characteristics and Income
DS15: 1990 Fourth Quarter: Monthly Expenditures
DS16: 1990 Fourth Quarter: Monthly Income
DS17: 1991 First Quarter: Family Characteristics and Income
DS18: 1991 First Quarter: Member Characteristics and Income
DS19: 1991 First Quarter: Monthly Expenditures
DS20: 1991 First Quarter: Monthly Income
DS21: 1990-1991: Purchases of Household Appliances
DS22: 1990-1991: Inventory of Household Appliances
DS23: 1990-1991: Inventory and Purchases of Owned Vehicles
DS24: 1990-1991: Disposal of Owned Vehicles
DS25: 1990-1991: Trips and Vacations
DS26: 1990-1991: Publication Aggregation
DS27: 1990-1991: Publication Labels
DS28: 1990-1991: Universal Classification Codes and Titles
DS29: 1990-1991: Vehicle Make/Model Codes and Titles
DS30: 1990-1991: Codebook Text for All Parts
description: Total civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 
United States.