Measuring Labor Earnings Inequality Using Public-Use March Current Population Survey Data
The Value of Including Variances and Cell Means When Imputing Topcoded Values
Richard Burkhauser, Shuaizhang Feng, Jeff Larrimore | National Bureau of Economic Research
October 15, 2008
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Visiting
Scholar Richard Burkhauser
Abstract

Using the Census Bureau's internal March Current Population Surveys (CPS) file, we construct and make available variances and cell means for all topcoded income values in the public-use version of these data. We then provide a procedure that allows researchers with access only to the public-use March CPS data to take advantage of this added information when imputing its topcoded income values. As an example of its value we show how our new procedure improves on existing imputation methods in the labor earnings inequality literature.

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Richard Burkhauser is a visiting scholar at AEI. Shuaizhang Feng is an assistant professor of economics at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Jeff Larrimore is a graduate student in economics at Cornell University.

About the Author

 

Richard
Burkhauser

  • Richard Burkhauser's research focuses on how public policies affect the economic behavior and well-being of vulnerable populations, e.g., older persons, people with disabilities, and low-income households. He has published widely on these topics in journals of demography, economics, gerontology, as well as public policy.

  • Email: rvb1@cornell.edu
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