DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09035
title: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1960-1961
title: Archival Version

description: This data collection includes detailed information on the
 purchasing habits of Americans in 1960-1961, with over 200 types of
 expenditures coded. For the first time since 1941, the Consumer
 Expenditure Survey sampled both urban, non-farm and rural, farm
 households in an attempt to provide a complete picture of consumer
 expenditures in the United States. Personal interviews were conducted
 in 1960 and 1961 (and a small number in 1959) with 9,476 urban
 families, 2,285 rural non-farm families, and 1,967 rural farm
 families, for a total of 13,728 consumer units interviewed. A complete
 account of family income and outlays was compiled for a calendar year,
 as well as household characteristics. The expenditures covered by the
 survey were those which respondents could recall fairly accurately for
 three months or longer. In general, these expenditures included
 relatively large purchases, such as those for property, automobiles,
 and major appliances, or expenditures that occurred on a fairly
 regular basis, such as rent, utilities, or insurance premiums.
 Expenditures incurred while on trips were also covered by the
 survey. Information to determine net changes in the family's assets
 and liabilities during the year was also gathered. The estimated value
 of goods and services received, as gifts or otherwise, without direct
 expenditures by the family, was requested also. In addition, farm
 families provided farm receipts, disbursements, changes in farm
 assets, and value of home-produced food. To supplement the annual
 data, non-farm families who prepared meals at home provided a detailed
 seven-day record, during the week prior to the interview, of
 expenditures for food and related items purchased frequently (e.g.,
 tobacco, personal care, and household supplies). For selected items of
 clothing, house furnishings, and food, the record of expenditures was
 supplemented by information on quantities purchased and prices paid.
 Characteristics of the housing occupied by homeowners and renters and
 an inventory of the major items of house furnishing they owned also
 were recorded. Demographic information includes sex, age, years of
 school completed, occupation, race, and marital status of each family
member.
description: Nationwide stratified probability samples selected for
 urban areas, rural areas in metropolitan counties, and rural areas in
nonmetropolitan counties.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1960-1961
description: Households in the United States from 1959-1961.
description: (1) ICPSR obtained the 1960-1961 Consumer Expenditure
 Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in two files, one
 containing the urban families and a second file containing the rural
 families interviewed. The data records in each of the files were
 recorded in zoned-decimal format, with two records of 911 columns each
 per case. ICPSR processing consisted of transforming the data from
 zoned-decimal to character mode, altering the file from two records of
 911 columns per case to a single record of 1748 characters per case
 (deleting blank and duplicate fields in the process), and combining
 the urban and rural interview records into a single file. (2) The
 codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF)
 file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated
 and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe
 Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat
Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.