National Experimental Wellbeing Statistics - Version 1
February 2023
Working Paper Number:
CES-23-04
Abstract
This is the U.S. Census Bureau's first release of the National Experimental Wellbeing Statistics (NEWS) project. The NEWS project aims to produce the best possible estimates of income and poverty given all available survey and administrative data. We link survey, decennial census, administrative, and third-party data to address measurement error in income and poverty statistics. We estimate improved (pre-tax money) income and poverty statistics for 2018 by addressing several possible sources of bias documented in prior research. We address biases from 1) unit nonresponse through improved weights, 2) missing income information in both survey and administrative data through improved imputation, and 3) misreporting by combining or replacing survey responses with administrative information. Reducing survey error substantially affects key measures of well-being: We estimate median household income is 6.3 percent higher than in survey estimates, and poverty is 1.1 percentage points lower. These changes are driven by subpopulations for which survey error is particularly relevant. For house holders aged 65 and over, median household income is 27.3 percent higher and poverty is 3.3 percentage points lower than in survey estimates. We do not find a significant impact on median household income for householders under 65 or on child poverty. Finally, we discuss plans for future releases: addressing other potential sources of bias, releasing additional years of statistics, extending the income concepts measured, and including smaller geographies such as state and county.
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:
estimating,
survey,
respondent,
imputation,
percentile,
socioeconomic,
poor,
poverty,
household surveys,
income survey,
survey income,
assessed,
income data,
1040
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Internal Revenue Service,
Social Security Administration,
Department of Defense,
Bureau of Economic Analysis,
National Income and Product Accounts,
Current Population Survey,
Longitudinal Business Database,
Michigan Institute for Teaching and Research in Economics,
Housing and Urban Development,
Employer Identification Numbers,
Social Security,
Postal Service,
Department of Labor,
Department of Housing and Urban Development,
American Community Survey,
Social Security Number,
Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics,
Detailed Earnings Records,
Disability Insurance,
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Department of Health and Human Services,
W-2,
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
Office of Personnel Management,
Master Address File,
Disclosure Review Board,
ASEC,
Person Validation System,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
Person Identification Validation System,
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers,
Social Science Research Institute,
Personally Identifiable Information,
MAF-ARF,
Data Management System,
HHS
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