Data & Statistics Resources
Dataset: PSID - Panel Study on Income Dynamics
Description: The PSID is an ongoing data collection effort begun in 1968 in an attempt to fill the need for a better understanding of the determinants of family income and its changes. Core data are collected annually, with each new wave of family data constituting a separate data file (Parts 2-27, 201-205).
The PSID has continued to trace individuals from the original national sample of approximately 4,800 households, whether those individuals are living in the same dwelling or with the same people. The investigators hoped to discover whether most short-term changes in economic status are due to forces outside the family or if they can be traced to something in the individual's own background or in the pattern of his or her thinking and behavior. The data can shed light on what causes family income to rise above or fall below the poverty line.
In line with the theoretical model, the questions asked fall generally under the headings of economic status, economic behavior, demographics, and attitudes. Specifically, they deal with topics such as:
- employment
- income sources and amounts
- housing
- car ownership
- food expenditures
- transportation
- do-it-yourself home maintenance and car repairs
- education
- disability
- time use
- family background
- family composition changes
- residential location
Beginning in 1985, comprehensive retrospective fertility and marriage histories of individuals in the households were assembled.
Data on individuals are contained in Part 1, Cross-Year Individual File, 1968-1993 (Waves 1-26) [Public Release II], and an early release of individual-level data through 1999 is included in Part 201, Cross-Year Individual File, 1968-1999 (Waves 1-31) [Public Release I].
Time period: 1968-1999 (Updated annually)
How to Access Data: ICPSR Study No. 7439
For data files accompanied by an SPSS syntax file, please see the following help file. If you need further assistance, please contact Lynda Duke (x3220) or Kristin Vogel (x3576). ICPSR provides tutorials on downloading and using datasets at http://www.icprs.org/help/newuser.html.
For more details, see below.
Principal Investigators
Hofferth, Sandra, Frank P. Stafford, Wei-Jun J. Yeung, Greg J. Duncan, Martha S. Hill, James Lepkowski, and James N. Morgan
Documentation
Data Format and File Storage
LRECL with SAS and SPSS data definition statements
Source of Data
Personal and telephone interviews, mailback questionnaires, and census data
Bibliographic Citation
Hofferth, Sandra, Frank P. Stafford, Wei-Jun J. Yeung, Greg J. Duncan, Martha S. Hill, James Lepkowski, and James N. Morgan. PANEL STUDY OF INCOME DYNAMICS, 1968-1999: ANNUAL CORE DATA [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center [producer], 2001. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2002.