DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09114.v1
title: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1986: Diary Survey
title: Version 1

description: The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides a 
 continuous, comprehensive flow of data on the buying habits of American 
 consumers. In addition, these data are used to maintain and to review 
 the Consumer Price Index. The Diary, or recordkeeping, component of the 
 CES contains expenditure data for items purchased on a daily or weekly 
 basis. Participants from consumer units, which are roughly equivalent 
 to households, are asked to maintain expense records, or diaries, of 
 all purchases made each day for two consecutive one-week periods. 
 Diaries are designed to record information on small, frequently 
 purchased items such as food, beverages, food consumed away from home, 
 gasoline, housekeeping supplies, nonprescription drugs and medical 
 supplies, and personal care products and services. Information is also 
 elicited at the end of the two-week period on work experience, 
 occupation, industry, retirement status, member earnings from wages and 
 salaries, net income from business or profession, net income from one's 
own farm, and income from other sources.
description: This survey is based on a national probability sample of 
 households. The sampling frame (i.e., the list from which housing units 
 were chosen) for this survey was generated from the 1980 Census 100 
 percent detail file. Each selected sample unit is requested to keep two 
 one-week diaries of expenditures over consecutive weeks. The earliest 
 possible day for placing a diary with a household is predesignated so 
 that each day of the week has an equal chance to start the reference 
 week and the diaries are evenly spaced throughout the year. During the 
 last six weeks of the year, the diary sample is supplemented to twice 
 its normal size to increase the reportings of types of expenditures 
unique to the holiday season.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: 1986 First Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS2: 1986 First Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS3: 1986 First Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS4: 1986 First Quarter: Income
DS5: 1986 Second Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS6: 1986 Second Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS7: 1986 Second Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS8: 1986 Second Quarter: Income
DS9: 1986 Third Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS10: 1986 Third Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS11: 1986 Third Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS12: 1986 Third Quarter: Income
DS13: 1986 Fourth Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS14: 1986 Fourth Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS15: 1986 Fourth Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS16: 1986 Fourth Quarter: Income
DS17: 1986 Universal Classification Codes and Their Titles
description: Total United States civilian noninstitutionalized 
population.
description: The codebook for this data collection is 
 machine-readable only. All published and unpublished Universal 
 Classification Codes (UCC) have been included on the Diary files. This 
 will permit users to integrate data from the Diary and Interview 
 surveys. The Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income (FMLY) files 
 supply information on consumer unit characteristics, consumer unit 
 income, and characteristics and earnings of the reference person and 
 his or her spouse. Member Characteristics (MEMB) files contain selected 
 characteristics for each consumer unit member, including reference 
 person and spouse. The Detailed Expenditures (EXPN) files present 
 weekly data on expenditures at the UCC level, while the Income (DTAB) 
files contain weekly data on income at the UCC level.