1 The SIPP: The Evolution of a Phoenix Population Association of America April 17, 2008 David Johnson

2 The SIPP Evolution

3 The Unique Value of SIPP To provide a nationally representative sample for evaluating: –annual and sub-annual dynamics of income –movements into and out of government transfer programs –family and social context of individuals and households –interactions between these items

4 Purpose of SIPP Recommendation 2-1: The two primary goals for SIPP should be to provide improved information on the distribution of income and other economic resources for people and families and on eligibility for and participation in government assistance programs. Within these two goals, most attention should be paid to improving the information for people who are economically at risk. –The Future of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, NAS, 1993

5 Recent/Forthcoming SIPP reports 2004 Marriage and Divorce table package Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Movements in the U.S. Income Distribution A Child’s Day, 2004, table package Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements table package Providing Support: 2005 table package Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 2002 American’s with Disabilities: 2005 Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Poverty

6 Current Uses of SIPP (recent CBO reports)

7 SIPP 2004 Panel Highlights Target of 45,000 Household sample Reduced by half in Sept 2006 (wave 8) and TMs eliminated Continued collection until Jan 2008 (wave 12) State representativeness and reliability for 33 states Reduced seam bias Currently wave 6 released

8 SIPP 2008 Panel Highlights Target of 45,000 Household sample Wave 1 begins in Sept 2008 Modified 2004 Panel TM structure –Same Wave 1, 2. Wave 3 TMs on Wave 4, etc. Collection for 3-4 years State representativeness and reliability for 20 states Waves released 9 months after data collection completed

9 Our work on SIPP Improvements Improve Processing System and Collection Instrument Develop Event History Calendar (EHC) Instrument Examine use of administrative records data to supplement and evaluate survey data Continue meetings with stakeholders, development of survey content, and use of reimbursable supplements

10 Timeline for SIPP Development 2008 paper EHC Sep --- Jan --- May --- Sep --- Jan --- May --- Sep --- Jan --- May --- Sep --- Jan --- May --- Sep --- Jan --- May --- Sep --- Jan SIPP Re-Engineering Instrument Dev. Processing and Evaluation SIPP 2008 Panel – Waves 1 – 10 collection Eval. Analysis Systems Tests - Preparation 2009 Re-engineered SIPP automated Prototype Reference Period Field Activities 2012/13 SIPP Re-Engineering Instrument Refinement Systems Tests - Preparation 2013 Reengineered SIPP Reference Period Field Activities SIPP 2008 Panel – Waves 1 – 13 data release Data Gap SIPP nd automated prototype Reference Period Field Act. SIPP 2004 Panel data release Waves 11 – 13

11 Improving Processing System Convert CAPI instrument to BLAISE Develop processing system in conjunction with survey instrument for reengineered SIPP Document processing system –Convert from FORTRAN to SAS –Document edit and imputation procedures

12 Evaluate use of EHC An EHC interview is centered around a customized calendar that shows the reference period under investigation The calendar contains timelines for different domains Landmark events, such as holidays and birthdays can be used to aid the respondent’s memory Many surveys using EHC – PSID, LAFANS, ELSA

Paper Test Paper instrument (Control card, EHC, and Assets Questions) –Administered April/May 2008 A reinterview evaluation and validation test –Reinterview of 2004 panel SIPP respondents to recollect information for calendar year 2007 (about 2000 households) Cases completing Wave 12 of SIPP 2004 Panel (Primed) Sample reduction cases cut after Wave Panel (Un-Primed) –Pairwise comparison of responses from the two data sources –Validation of responses using administrative records matched at the individual level; assess the occurrence, timing, and distributional differences. Interviewer debriefings and qualitative analyses to refine concepts and training procedures

14 Screen shot of prototype automated EHC instrument

15 Screen shot of prototype automated EHC instrument Pop-up with question

16 Re-engineered Survey Format/Content Survey Instrument – –Annual administration (Jan/Feb) –BLAISE (plus EHC) –Follow movers –Limited feedback Content –Responding users indicated a broad need for most of SIPP core content. Calendar – –Improvement on other designs by integrating more closely with the instrument programming language.

17 Use of Administrative Records National-level data –SIPP linked with administrative records data at the person level –Examining imputation methods Creation of SIPP Synthetic Beta File matched with SSA data State-level data –Many social programs administered at the state- level –SIPP data linked to social program data from states, e.g., Maryland, Illinois

18 Stakeholder Meetings and presentations Association of Public Policy and Management (Nov 2007) Event History Calendar Conference (Dec 2007) –See 07papers.htmlhttp://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/Publications/Workshops/ehc- 07papers.html American Economic Association, Session (Jan 2008) Population Association of America, Panel (April 2008) SIPP Small Grants and Workshop (October 2008) –See ASA Survey Research Methods Committee (Sept 2008) CNSTAT Panel (Karl Scholz (chair), Pat Ruggles (study director)) (report due fall 2008)

19 URL: Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Demographics Survey Division, Survey of Income and Program Participation branch Census Bureau Links: Home · Search · Subjects A-Z · FAQs · Data Tools · Catalog · Census 2000 · Quality · Privacy Policy · Contact Us HomeSearchSubjects A-ZFAQsData ToolsCatalog Census 2000QualityPrivacy PolicyContact Us Updating SIPP User Guide