Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 46, issue 1

Authors: Flood, Sarah | Rodgers, Renae | Pacas, José | Kristiansen, Devon | Klaas, Ben

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The Current Population Survey (CPS) has been the nation’s primary source of information about employment and unemployment for decades. The data are widely used by social scientists and policy makers to study labor force participation, poverty, and other high-priority topics. An underutilized feature of the CPS is its short-run panel component. This paper discusses the unique challenges encountered when linking basic monthly data as well as when linking the March basic monthly data to the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement in the 1976–1988 period. We describe strategies to address linking obstacles and document linkage rates.

Keywords: Data integration, linking, panel data, current population survey

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-210480

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 1-28, 2022

Authors: Zimmer, Timothy E. | Snyder, Allison | Miller, Amanda | Slaper, Timothy F.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The study examines wage differentials of individuals experiencing unemployment episodes using a multivariate analysis of wage and unemployment records. The focus is the wage effect of small distance geographic mobility (micro-mobility) during job seeking. The results identify limitations on geographic micro-mobility as a source of wage disparity in the re-employment market. The study isolates persistent gender differences in geographic mobility rates and hypothesizes this as a potential source of gender-wage disparity in both the re-employment and greater labor market. The data and methods are unique. The dataset is Indiana administrative wage records over a ten-year period for individuals …that experience unemployment episodes. The study assesses unemployment as an exogenous shock on wages to determine underlying influences in the labor market. The novel approach is unconstrained by limitations associated with aggregated or proxy data. Show more

Keywords: Unemployment, geographic mobility, wages, gender-wage bias

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-210481

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 29-42, 2022

Authors: Smith, Paul A. | Nikolova, Atanaska S. | Elliott, Duncan J.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In official statistics, excess winter mortality, the number of additional deaths in a winter period, is typically defined as the difference between mortality in a winter period relative to the nonwinter periods before and after. We note two limitations of this approach: (1) the data for the period after winter is available only later, so estimates of excess winter mortality are not timely; (2) unusually high or low numbers of deaths in the non-winter periods can affect estimates. We propose an alternative statistic based on the application of standard seasonal adjustment procedures. We compare the approaches and present some illustrative …analyses. The new statistic provides a more objective and timely official series, but is susceptible to revisions, which are shown to be small in practice. We recommend it as the basis of more detailed monitoring and modelling. Show more

Keywords: Excess winter mortality, seasonal adjustment, time series decomposition

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-210482

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 43-59, 2022