DOI: 10.3886/icpsr06210
title: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1991: Diary Survey
title: Archival Version

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 Diary Survey contains consumer 
 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. Participants were asked to maintain expense 
 records, or diaries, of all purchases made each day for two consecutive 
 one-week periods. Information was also elicited at the end of the 
 two-week period on work experience, occupation, industry, retirement 
 status, earnings from wages and salaries, net income from business or 
 profession, net income from one's own farm, and income from other 
 sources. 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. A consumer unit consists of all members of a 
 particular housing unit who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, 
 or some other legal arrangement. Consumer unit determination for 
 unrelated persons is based on financial independence. 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 Universal Classification Code (UCC) level, while the Income 
(DTAB) files contain weekly data on income at the UCC level.
description: This survey is based on a national probability sample of 
 households. The sampling frame for this survey (i.e., the list from 
 which housing units were chosen) 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: 1991 First Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS2: 1991 First Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS3: 1991 First Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS4: 1991 First Quarter: Income
DS5: 1991 Second Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS6: 1991 Second Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS7: 1991 Second Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS8: 1991 Second Quarter: Income
DS9: 1991 Third Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS10: 1991 Third Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS11: 1991 Third Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS12: 1991 Third Quarter: Income
DS13: 1991 Fourth Quarter: Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income
DS14: 1991 Fourth Quarter: Member Characteristics
DS15: 1991 Fourth Quarter: Detailed Expenditures
DS16: 1991 Fourth Quarter: Income
DS17: 1991 Publication Aggregation
DS18: 1991 Publication Labels
DS19: 1991 Universal Classification Codes and Titles
description: Civilian noninstitutional population of the United States.
description: (1) Documentation for the Diary data has been 
 restructured beginning with the 1991 survey year. (2) Part 11, 1991 
 Third Quarter: Detailed Expenditures, contains 122,346 records, not 
122,340 records as listed in the documentation.