Appendix B: Data Source Descriptions
Consumer Expenditure Survey
The Consumer
Expenditure Survey (CEX) is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the
U.S. Census
Bureau.
The survey contains both a Diary component and an Interview component. Data
presented in this chartbook on housing expenditures
are derived from the Interview component only. The proportions shown are
derived from sample data and are not weighted to reflect the entire population.
In the Interview portion of the CEX, respondents are interviewed once every 3 months for 5
consecutive quarters. Respondents report information on consumer
unita characteristics and expenditures during
each interview. Income data are collected during the second and fifth interviews only.
The data presented
are obtained from consumer units whose reference personb
is at least 65 years old. From all consumer units of this type, complete income
reportersc are selected. The data are then
sorted by income and grouped into income quintiles, with the
first quintile containing the lowest reported
incomes.d Annual expenditures are
estimated by annualizing quarterly estimates (i.e., quarterly estimates are
multiplied by four). The proportions of total out-of-pocket expenditures that
are used for housing are then calculated separately for each income group.
Because of small
sample sizes of consumer units with a reference person age 65 and over, these
data may have large standard errors relative to their means; caution should be
exercised when analyzing these results.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more information,
contact:
Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys Staff
Phone: (202) 691-5132
E-mail: cexinfo@bls.gov
Internet: http://www.bls.gov/cex
aThis
term is used to describe
members of a household related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangement;
single people who are living alone or sharing a household with others but who
are financially independent; or two or more persons living together who share
responsibility for at least two of three major types of expenses--food,
housing, and other expenses. Students living in university-sponsored housing
are also included in the sample as separate consumer units. For convenience,
the term "household" may be substituted for the term
"consumer unit."
b
This is the first person mentioned when the respondent
is asked to name the person or people who own or rent the home in which the
consumer unit resides.
cgeneral, complete income reporters are those
families that provide a value for at least one major source of income, such as
wages and salaries, self-employment income, and Social Security income.
However, complete income reporters do not necessarily provide a full accounting
of income from all sources.
d is important to note that income does not
necessarily include all sources of taxable income; for example, capital gains
are not collected as income. Similarly, other sources of revenue (such as sales
of jewelry, art, furniture, or other similar property) are not included in the
definition of income used by the CEX Interview component.
Current Population
Survey
The Current
Population Survey (CPS) is a nationally representative sample survey of about
60,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by
the U.S. Census Bureau. The CPS core survey is the primary source of
information on the labor force characteristics of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population age 16 and over, including
estimates of unemployment released every month by the BLS. Monthly CPS
supplements provide additional demographic and social data. The Annual Social
and Economic Supplement (ASEC), or March CPS Supplement, is the primary source
of detailed information on income and poverty in the
United States. The ASEC is used to
generate the annual Population Profile of the
United States, reports on geographical
mobility and educational attainment, and detailed analyses of money income and
poverty status.
Race and Hispanic
origin: In 2003, for the first time CPS
respondents were asked to identify themselves as belonging to one or more of
the six racial groups (white, black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian,
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and
Some Other Race); previously they were to choose only one. People who responded
to the question on race by indicating only one race are referred to as the race
alone or single-race population, and individuals who
chose more than one of the race categories are referred to as the
Two-or-More-Races population.
The CPS includes a
separate question on Hispanic origin. Starting in 2003, people of Spanish/
Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. People of Hispanic origin may be of
any race.
The 1994 redesign
of the CPS had an impact on labor force participation rates for older men and
women. (See "Indicator 11: Participation in the Labor Force.") For
more information on the effect of the redesign, see "The CPS
After the Redesign: Refocusing the Economic Lens."14
For more
information regarding the CPS, its sampling structure and estimation
methodology, see "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error."62
For more
information, contact: Division of Labor Force Statistics Staff Phone: (202)
691-6378 E-mail: cpsinfo@bls.gov Internet:
http://stats.bls.gov/cps/home.htm
Decennial Census
Every 10 years,
beginning with the first census in 1790, the United States government conducts a
census, or count, of the entire population as mandated by the U.S.
Constitution. The 1990 and 2000 censuses were taken April 1 of their respective
years. As in several previous censuses, two forms were used: a short form and a
long form. The short form was sent to every household, and the long form,
containing the 100 percent questions plus the sample questions, was sent to
approximately one in every six households.
The Census 2000
short form questionnaire included six questions for each member of the
household (name, sex, age, relationship, Hispanic origin, and race) and whether
the housing unit was owned or rented. The long form asked more detailed information
on subjects such as education, employment, income, ancestry, homeowner costs,
units in a structure, number of rooms, plumbing facilities, etc. Decennial
censuses not only count the population but also sample the socioeconomic status
of the population, providing a tool for the government, educators, business
owners, and others to get a snapshot of the state of the Nation.
Race and Hispanic
origin: In Census 2000, respondents were given the option of selecting one or
more race categories to indicate their racial identities. People who responded
to the question on race indicating only one of the six race categories (white,
black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other
Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race) are referred to
as the race alone or single-race population. Individuals who chose more than
one of the race categories are referred to as the Two-or-More-Races population.
The six single-race categories, which made up nearly 98 percent of all
respondents, and the Two-or-More-Races category sum to the total population.1
Because respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race
categories to indicate their racial identities, Census 2000 data on race are
not directly comparable with data from the 1990 or earlier censuses.
As in earlier
censuses, Census 2000 included a separate question on Hispanic origin. In
Census 2000, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves
as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. People of
Hispanic origin may be of any race.
For more
information, contact: Age and Special Populations Branch Staff Phone: (301)
763-2378 http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
Health and
Retirement Study
The Health and
Retirement Study (HRS) is a national panel study conducted by the
University of Michigan's Institute for
Social Research under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute on
Aging. In 1992, the study had an initial sample of over 12,600 people from the
1931-1941 birth cohort and their spouses. The HRS was joined in 1993 by a
companion study, Asset and Health Dynamics Among the
Oldest Old (AHEAD), with a sample of 8,222 respondents born before 1924 who
were age 70 and over and their spouses. In 1998, these two data collection
efforts were combined into a single survey instrument and field
period and were expanded through the addition of baseline interviews with two
new birth cohorts: Children of the Depression Age (CODA--1924- 1930)
and War Babies (WB--1942-1947). Plans call for adding a new 6-year
cohort of Americans entering their 50s every 6 years. In 2004, baseline
interviews will be conducted with the Early Boomer birth cohort
(1948-1953). The combined studies, which are collectively called HRS,
have become a steady state sample that is representative of the entire
U.S. population age 50 and over
(excluding people who were resident in a nursing home or other
institutionalized setting at the time of sampling). HRS will follow respondents
longitudinally until they die (including following people who move into a
nursing home or other institutionalized setting). All cohorts will be followed
with biennial interviews.
The HRS is intended
to provide data for researchers, policy analysts, and program planners who make
major policy decisions that affect retirement, health insurance, saving, and
economic wellbeing. The study is designed to explain the antecedents and
consequences of retirement; examine the relationship between health, income,
and wealth over time; examine life cycle patterns of wealth accumulation and
consumption; monitor work disability; provide a rich source of
interdisciplinary data, including linkages with administrative data; monitor
transitions in physical, functional, and cognitive health in advanced old age;
relate late-life changes in physical and cognitive health to patterns of
spending down assets and income flows; relate
changes in health to economic resources and intergenerational transfers; and
examine how the mix and distribution of economic, family, and program resources
affect key outcomes, including retirement, spending down assets, health
declines, and institutionalization.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact: Health and Retirement Study Staff Phone: (734)
936-0314 E-mail: hrsquest@isr.umich.edu Internet:
http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu
Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey
The Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is an ongoing annual survey of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population that collects detailed
information on health care use and expenditures (including sources of payment),
health insurance, income, health status, access, and quality of care. MEPS,
begun in 1996, is the third in a series of national
probability surveys conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
on the financing and use of medical care in the
United States. MEPS predecessor surveys
are the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) conducted in 1977 and
the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) conducted in 1987. Each of the
three surveys (i.e., NMCES, NMES, and MEPS) used multiple rounds of in-person
data collection to elicit expenditures and sources of payments for each health
care event experienced by household members during the calendar year. To yield
more complete information on health care spending and payment sources,
followback surveys of health providers were conducted for a
subsample of events in MEPS (and events in the MEPS
predecessor surveys).
Since 1977, the
structure of billing mechanism for medical services has grown more complex as a
result of increasing penetration of managed care and health maintenance
organizations and various cost-containment reimbursement mechanisms instituted
by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. As a result, there has been
substantial discussion about what constitutes an appropriate measure of health
care expenditures.63 Health care expenditures presented in this
report refer to what is actually paid for health care services. More
specifically, expenditures are defined
as the sum of direct payments for care received, including out-of-pocket
payments for care received. This definition of
expenditures differs somewhat from what was used in the 1987 NMES, which used
charges (rather than payments) as the fundamental expenditure construct. To
improve comparability of estimates between the 1987 NMES and the 1996 and 2001
MEPS, the 1987 data presented in this report were adjusted using the method
described by Zuvekas and Cohen.64 Adjustments
to the 1977 data were considered unnecessary because virtually all of the
discounting for health care services occurred after 1977 (essentially equating
charges with payments in 1977).
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact: MEPS Project Director Phone: (301) 427-1656 E-mail:
mepspd@ahrq.gov Internet: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov
Medicare Current
Beneficiary Survey
The Medicare
Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is a
continuous, multipurpose survey of a representative sample of the Medicare
population designed to help the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) administer, monitor, and evaluate the Medicare program. The MCBS collects
information on health care use, cost, and sources of payment; health insurance
coverage; household composition; sociodemographic
characteristics; health status and physical functioning; income and assets;
access to care; satisfaction with care; usual source of care; and how
beneficiaries get information about Medicare.
MCBS data enable
CMS to determine sources of payment for all medical services used by Medicare
beneficiaries, including copayments,
deductibles, and noncovered services; develop
reliable and current information on the use and cost of services not covered by
Medicare (such as prescription drugs and long-term care); ascertain all types
of health insurance coverage and relate coverage to sources of payment; and
monitor the financial effects of changes in the
Medicare program. Additionally, the MCBS is the only source of multidimensional
person-based information about the characteristics of the Medicare population
and their access to and satisfaction with Medicare services and information
about the Medicare program. The MCBS sample consists of Medicare enrollees in
the community and in institutions.
The survey is
conducted in three rounds per year, with each round being 4 months in length.
MCBS has a multistage, stratified, random
sample design and a rotating panel survey design. Each panel is followed for 12
interviews. In-person interviews are conducted using computer-assisted personal
interviewing. Approximately 16,000 sample persons are interviewed in each
round. However, because of the rotating panel design, only 12,000 sample
persons receive all three interviews in a given calendar year. Information
collected in the survey is combined with information from CMS administrative
data files and made available through
public-use data files.
Race and Hispanic origin:
The MCBS defines race as white, black, Asian,
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American
Indian or Alaska Native, and other. People are allowed to choose more than one
category. There is a separate question on whether the person is of Hispanic or
Latino origin. The "other" category in Table 29c on page 102
consists of people who answered "no" to the Hispanic/ Latino
question and who answered something other than "white" or
"black" to the race question. People who answer with more than one
racial category are assigned to the "other" category.
For more
information, contact:
MCBS Staff E-mail: MCBS@cms.hhs.gov
Internet: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcbs
The Research Data Assistance Center
Phone: (888) 973-7322
E-mail: resdac@umn.edu
Internet: http://www.resdac.umn.edu
National Health
Interview Survey
The National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted by the National Center
for Health Statistics, is a continuing nationwide sample survey in which data are collected during personal
household interviews. Interviewers collect data on illnesses, injuries,
impairments, and chronic conditions; activity limitation caused by chronic
conditions; utilization of health services; and other health topics.
Information is also obtained on personal, social, economic, and demographic
characteristics, including race and ethnicity and health insurance status. Each
year the survey is reviewed, and special topics are added or deleted. For most
health topics, the survey collects data over an entire year.
The NHIS sample
includes an oversample of black and Hispanic people
and is designed to allow the development of national estimates of health
conditions, health service utilization, and health problems of the
noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States. The response rate for the
ongoing part of the survey has been between 94 percent and 98 percent over the
years. In 1997, the NHIS was redesigned; estimates beginning in 1997 are likely
to vary slightly from those for previous years. The interviewed sample for 2002
consisted of 36,161 households, which yielded 93,386 persons in 36,831
families.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Starting with data year 1999, race- specific
estimates in the NHIS are tabulated according to 1997 Standards for Federal
data on Race and Ethnicity and are not strictly comparable with estimates for
earlier years. The single race categories for data from 1999 and later (shown
in tables 15a, 20, 21a, 22, 24b, and 26a on pages 88, 93-95, 97, and 99)
conform to 1997 Standards and are for people who reported only one racial
group. Prior to data year 1999, data were tabulated according to the 1977
Standards and included people who reported one race or, if they reported more
than one race, identified one race as best
representing their race. In table 21a on page 94, estimates of non-Hispanic
whites and non-Hispanic blacks in 1997 and 1998 are for people who reported
only a single race. In table 26a on page 99, the white and black race groups
include people of Hispanic origin.
Additional
background and health data for adults are available in Summary Health
Statistics for the
U.S. Population: National Health Interview
Survey.65
For more
information, contact:
NHIS staff Phone: (866) 441-NCHS
E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm
National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the
National Center for Health Statistics, is a
family of cross-sectional surveys designed to assess the health and nutritional
status of the noninstitutionalized civilian
population through direct physical examinations and interviews. Each
survey's sample was selected using a complex, stratified,
multistage, probability sampling design. Interviewers obtain information on
personal and demographic characteristics, including age, household income, and
race and ethnicity directly from sample persons (or their proxies). In
addition, dietary intake data, biochemical tests, physical measurements, and
clinical assessments are collected.
The NHANES program
includes the following surveys conducted on a periodic basis through 1994: the
first, second, and third National Health Examination
Surveys (NHES I, 1960-1962; NHES II, 1963-1965; and NHES III,
1966-1970); and the first, second, and
third National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES I,
1971-1974; NHANES II, 1976-1980; and NHANES III, 1988-1994).
Beginning in 1999, NHANES changed to a continuous data collection format
without breaks in survey cycles. The NHANES program now visits 15 U.S. locations per year,
surveying and reporting for approximately 5,000 people annually. The procedures
employed in continuous NHANES to select samples, conduct interviews, and
perform physical exams have been preserved from previous survey cycles. NHES I,
NHANES I, and NHANES II collected information on persons 6 months to 74 years
of age. NHANES III and later surveys include people age 75 and over.
With the advent of
the continuous survey design (NHANES III), NHANES moved from a 6-year data
release to a 2-year data release schedule. NHANES data-based indicators
included in this report utilize both 2-year (1999-2000) and 4-year
(1999-2002) estimates. The 1999-2000 estimates are based on a
smaller sample size than estimates for earlier time periods and, therefore, are
subject to greater sampling error.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
NHANES Staff
Phone: (866) 441-NCHS
E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
National Long Term
Care Survey
The National Long
Term Care Survey (NLTCS) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey
conducted by Duke University's Center for
Demographic Studies under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute
on Aging. The NLTCS is designed to study changes in the health and functional
status of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and
over. The survey began in 1982, and follow-up surveys have been conducted in
1984, 1989, 1994, and 1999. A sixth follow-up survey is scheduled to begin in
October 2004.
The sample is drawn
from Medicare beneficiary
enrollment files, a nationally representative
sample frame of both community and institutional residents. As sample persons
are followed through the Medicare record system, virtually 100 percent of cases
can be longitudinally tracked so that declines as well as improvements in
health status may be identified, as well as the
exact dates of death. NLTCS sample persons are followed until death and are
permanently and continuously linked to the Medicare record system from which
they are drawn. Linkage to the Medicare Part A and B service records extends
from 1982 through 2000 so that detailed Medicare expenditures and types of
service use may be studied.
Through the careful
application of methods to reduce nonsampling error,
the surveys provide nationally representative data on the prevalence and
patterns of functional limitations, both physical and cognitive; longitudinal
and cohort patterns of change in functional limitation and mortality over 17
years; medical conditions and recent medical problems; health care services
used; the kind and amount of formal and informal services received by impaired
individuals and how it is paid for; demographic and economic characteristics
such as age, race, sex, marital status, education, and income and assets;
out-of-pocket expenditures for health care services and other sources of
payment; and housing and neighborhood characteristics.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
Richard Pickett
Phone: (919) 668-2706
E-mail: rfpickett@cds.duke.edu
Internet: http://nltcs.cds.duke.edu/index.htm
National Nursing
Home Survey
The National
Nursing Home Survey (NNHS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is a
continuing series of national sample surveys of nursing homes, their residents,
and their staff. Six nursing home surveys have been conducted: 1973-1974,
1977, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1999; and a seventh is in the field:
2004. The 2004 NNHS has been redesigned and expanded to better meet the data
needs of researchers and health care planners working in the long-term care
field. In addition to other important new topics, the
2004 NNHS will include the first nationwide
survey of nursing assistants, the group which provides the majority of direct
care to the Nation's 1.6 million nursing home residents.
The survey collects
information on nursing homes, their residents, discharges, and staff. Nursing
homes are defined as facilities with three or
more beds that routinely provide nursing care services. The 1977 and 1985
surveys included personal care or domiciliary care homes. Estimates presented
for
1977 include these types of
facilities. Facilities may be certified by
Medicare or Medicaid, or both, or not certified
but licensed by the State as a nursing home. These facilities may be
freestanding or nursing care units of hospitals, retirement centers, or similar
institutions where the unit maintained financial
and resident records separate from those of the larger institutions. The survey
is based on interviews with administrators and staff and, in some years,
self-administered questionnaires for a sample of about 1,500 facilities.
The NNHS provides
information on nursing homes from two perspectives--that of the provider
of services and that of the recipient. Provider data include characteristics
such as size, ownership, Medicare/Medicaid certification,
occupancy rate, days of care provided, and expenses. Recipient data are
obtained on the residents' demographic characteristics, health status,
and services received. Data are provided by a staff member, usually a nurse,
familiar with the care provided to the resident. The nurse relies on the
medical record and personal knowledge of the resident.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Beginning in 1999 the instruction for the race item on the NNHS'
Current Resident Questionnaire was changed so that more than one race could be
recorded (American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, black or African American,
Native Hawaiian or other Pacifi c Islander, or
white). In previous years only one racial category could be checked. Estimates
in Table 35c on page 111 are for residents for whom only one race was recorded--black
(or African American) or white. A resident is classified
as Hispanic/Latino origin if he or she is of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of
race, as reported by facility staff.
For more
information, contact:
Robin E. Remsburg, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., B.C.
Phone: (301) 458-4747
E-mail: rremsburg@cdc.gov
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nnhsd/nnhsd.htm
National Survey of
Veterans, 2001
The 2001 National
Survey of Veterans (NSV) is a multipurpose survey used primarily to describe
characteristics of the veteran population and of users and nonusers of
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefit
programs. Survey topics include sociodemographic and
economic characteristics, military background, health status measures, and VA
and non-VA benefits usage. NSV was conducted by
telephone with approximately 20,000 veterans, and interviews lasted an average
of 35 minutes. The target population is all veterans residing in households in
the United States
and Puerto Rico. Because of the aging of
the veteran population and the sampling methodology, a large portion (40
percent) of the sample is of veterans age 65 and over. The Department of
Veterans Affairs Web site provides many data tables that classify veterans by
age, including the 65 and over age group.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
Susan Krumhaus
Phone: (202) 273-5108
E-mail: Susan.Krumhaus@mail.va.gov
Internet: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/surveyresults/index.htm
National Vital
Statistics System
Through the
National Vital Statistics System, the National Center for Health Statistics
collects and publishes data on births, deaths, and prior to 1996, marriages and
divorces occurring in the United States based on U.S. Standard
Certificates. The Division of Vital Statistics
obtains information on births and deaths from the registration
offices of each of the 50 States, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands. Geographic coverage for
births and deaths has been complete since 1933. Demographic information on the
death certificate is provided by the funeral
director based on information supplied by an informant. Medical
certification of cause of death is provided by a
physician, medical examiner, or coroner. The mortality data file
is a fundamental source of cause-of-death information by demographic
characteristics and for geographic areas such as States. The mortality
file is one of the few sources of comparable
health-related data for smaller geographic areas in the United States
and over a long time
period. Mortality data can be used not only to present the characteristics of
those dying in the United States but also to determine life
expectancy and to compare mortality trends with other countries. Data for the
entire United States refer to events occurring
within the United States; data for geographic areas
are by place of residence.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on the death
certificate. Therefore, data by race shown in Tables
13b, 14b, and 14c (on pages 82 and 84-87) include people of Hispanic or
non-Hispanic origin; data for Hispanic origin include people of any race.
For more
information on the mortality data files, see
Deaths: Leading causes for 2001.66
For more
information, contact:
Mortality Statistics Branch
Phone: (866) 441-NCHS
E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/dvs/mortdata.htm
Panel Study of
Income Dynamics
The Panel Study of
Income Dynamics (PSID) is a nationally representative, longitudinal study
conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for
Social Research. It is a representative sample of
U.S. individuals (men, women,
and children) and the family units in which they reside. Starting with a
national sample of 5,000 U.S. households in 1968, the
PSID has reinterviewed individuals from those
households annually from 1968 to 1997 and biennially thereafter, whether or not
they are living in the same dwelling or with the same people. Adults have been
followed as they have grown older, and children have been observed as they
advance through childhood and into adulthood, forming family units of their
own. Information about the original 1968 sample individuals and their current
co-residents (spouses, cohabitors, children, and
anyone else living with them) is collected each year. In 1990, a representative
national sample of 2,000 Hispanic households, differentially sampled to provide
adequate numbers of Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, and Cuban Americans, was
added to the PSID database. With low attrition rates and successful
recontacts, the sample size grew to almost 8,000 in 2003.
PSID data can be used for cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intergenerational
analyses and for studying both individuals and families.
The central focus
of the data has been economic and demographic, with substantial detail on income
sources and amounts, employment, family composition changes, and residential
location. Based on findings in the early years,
the PSID expanded to its present focus on family structure and dynamics as well
as income, wealth, and expenditures. Wealth and health are other important
contributors to individual and family well-being that have been the focus of
the PSID in recent years.
The PSID wealth
modules measure net equity in homes and nonhousing
assets divided into six categories: other real estate and vehicles; farm or
business ownership; stocks, mutual funds, investment trusts, and stocks held in
IRAs; checking and savings accounts, CDs, treasury bills, savings bonds, and
liquid assets in IRAs; bonds, trusts, life insurance, and other assets; and other
debts. The PSID measure of wealth excludes private pensions and rights to
future Social Security payments.
Race and Hispanic
origin: The PSID asks respondents if they are white, black, American Indian,
Aleut, Eskimo, Asian, Pacific Islander, or
another race. Respondents are allowed to choose more than one category. They
are coded according to the first category
mentioned. Only respondents who classified
themselves as white or black are included in Table 10 on page 79.
For information,
contact:
Frank Stafford
Phone: (734) 763-5166
E-mail: fstaffor@isr.umich.edu or psidhelp@isr.umich.edu
Internet: http://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/
Population
Projections
The population
projections for the United States are interim projections
that take into account the results of Census 2000. These interim projections
were created using the cohort-component method, which uses assumptions about
the components of population change. They are based on Census 2000 results,
official post-census estimates, as well as vital
registration data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The
assumptions are based on those used in the projections released in 2000 that
used a 1998 population estimate base. Some modifications
were made to the assumptions so that projected values were consistent with
estimates from 2001 as well as Census 2000.
Fertility is
assumed to increase slightly from current estimates. The projected total
fertility rate in 2025 is 2.180, and it is projected to increase to 2.186 by
2050. Mortality is assumed to continue to improve over time. By 2050, life
expectancy at birth is assumed to increase to 81.2 for men and 86.7 for women.
Net immigration is assumed to be 996,000 in 2025 and 1,097,000 in 2050.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Interim projections based on Census 2000 were also done by race and
Hispanic origin. The basic assumptions by race used in the previous projections
were adapted to reflect the Census 2000 race
definitions and results. Projections were developed
for the following groups: (1) non-Hispanic white alone, (2) Hispanic white
alone, (3) black alone, (4) Asian alone, and (5) all other groups. The
fifth category includes the categories of American
Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
Islanders, and all people reporting more than one of the major race categories
defined by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB).
For a more detailed
discussion of the cohort-component method and the assumptions about the
components of population change, see "Methodology and Assumptions for the
Population Projections of the United States: 1999 to 2100."67
For more
information, contact:
Greg Spencer
Phone: (301) 763-2428
E-mail: Gregory.K.Spencer@census.gov
Internet: http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/popproj.html
Survey of the
Aged, 1963
The major purpose
of the 1963 Survey of the Aged was to measure the economic and social
situations of a representative sample of all people age 62 and over in the
United States in 1963 in order to serve
the detailed information needs of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The
survey included a wide range of questions on health insurance, medical care
costs, income, assets and liabilities, labor force participation and work
experience, housing and food expenses, and living arrangements.
The sample consisted
of a representative subsample (one-half) of the
Current Population Survey (CPS) sample and the full Quarterly Household Survey.
Income was measured using answers to 17 questions about specific
sources. Results from this survey have been combined with CPS results from 1971
to the present in an income time-series produced by SSA.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
Susan Grad Phone: (202) 358-6220
E-mail: susan.grad@ssa.gov
Internet: http://www.socialsecurity.gov
Survey of
Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged, 1968
The 1968 Survey of
Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged was
conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide continuing
information on the socioeconomic status of the older population for program
evaluation. Major issues addressed by the study include the adequacy of
Old-Age, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance benefit
levels, the impact of certain Social Security provisions on the incomes of the
older population, and the extent to which other sources of income are received
by older Americans.
Data for the 1968
Survey were obtained as a supplement to the Current Medicare Survey, which yields
current estimates of health care services used and charges incurred by people
covered by the hospital insurance and supplemental medical insurance programs.
Supplemental questions covered work experience, household relationships,
income, and assets. Income was measured using answers to 17 questions about
specific sources. Results from this survey have been
combined with results from the Current Population Survey from 1971 to the
present in an income time-series produced by SSA.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
Susan Grad Phone: (202) 358-6220
E-mail: susan.grad@ssa.gov
Internet: http://www.socialsecurity.gov
Survey of Veteran
Enrollees' Health and Reliance Upon VA, 2003
The 2003 Survey of
Veteran Enrollees' Health and Reliance Upon VA
is the fourth in a series of surveys of veteran enrollees for VA health care
conducted by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), within the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), under multiyear OMB authority. Previous surveys of
VHA-enrolled veterans were conducted in 1999, 2000, and 2002. All four VHA
surveys of enrollees consisted of telephone interviews with stratified
random samples of enrolled veterans. In 2000, 2002, and 2003, the survey
instrument was modified to refl ect VA management's
need for specific data and information on
enrolled veterans.
As with the other
surveys in the series, the 2003 Survey of Veteran Enrollees' Health and
Reliance Upon VA sample was stratified
by Veterans Integrated Service Network, enrollment priority, and type of
enrollee (new or past user). Telephone interviews averaged 12-15 minutes
in length. In the 2003 survey, interviews were conducted during
August-September 2003. Of approximately 6.7 million eligible enrollees who had
not declined enrollment as of December 31, 2002, some 42,000 completed
interviews in the 2003 telephone survey.
VHA enrollee
surveys provide a fundamental source of data and information on enrollees that
cannot be obtained in any other way except through surveys and yet are basic to
many VHA activities. The primary purpose of the VHA enrollee surveys is to
provide critical inputs into VHA Health Care Services Demand Model enrollment,
patient and expenditure projections, and the Secretary's enrollment level
decision processes; however, data from the enrollee surveys find
their way into a variety of strategic analysis areas related to budget, policy,
or legislation.
VHA enrollee
surveys provide particular value in terms of their ability to help identify not
only who VA serves but also to help supplement VA's knowledge of veteran
enrollees' demographic characteristics, including household income,
health insurance coverage status, functional status (ADL and IADL limitations)
and perceived health status, their other eligibilities and resources, their use
of VA and non-VA health care services and "reliance" upon VA, and
their potential future use of VA health care services.
Race and Hispanic
origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this
report.
For more
information, contact:
Dee Ramsel, Ph.D.
Phone: (414) 384-2000, ext. 42353
E-mail: dee.ramsel@med.va.gov
Internet: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/healthcare/index.htm