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Publication

Income reporting in the initial waves of panel surveys: evidence from the Understanding Society

Publication type

Conference Paper

Series

Understanding Society Scientific Conference 2015, 21-23 July 2015, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Author

Publication date

July 21, 2015

Summary

This paper provides evidence that income data collected as part of panel surveys may not be comparable across waves. Using Understanding Society and exploiting a unique feature of the survey design – that random samples of households are responding at different waves of the panel in a given calendar year – means that we have a quasi-experimental setup. Estimates indicate that the effect of being interviewed for a second time is to increase reported monthly benefit income by £117 per month. Dependent interviewing – a common recall device used in household panel surveys – takes effect only after a first survey interview. It can explain approximately 37% of the observed increase in reported income, however, leaving a substantial part of the increase unexplained. After ruling out alternatives, we conclude that familiarity with the survey and interview process changes reporting behaviour at the second wave. This conclusion is supported with an examination of item non-response rates for the income variables, which fall at the second wave. The results have implications for estimating income distributions from the initial waves of panel surveys and more broadly for comparability with income data from cross-sectional surveys.

Subjects

Link

Cid:523145

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