Race and Hispanic origin data are required to produce official statistics in the United States. Data collected through the American Community Survey and decennial census address missing data through traditional imputation methods, often relying on information from neighbors. These methods work well if neighbors share similar characteristics, however, the shape and patterns of neighborhoods in the United States are changing. Administrative records may provide more accurate data compared to traditional imputation methods for missing race and Hispanic origin responses. This paper first describes the characteristics of persons with missing demographic data, then assesses the coverage of administrative records data for respondents who do not answer race and Hispanic origin questions in Census data. The paper also discusses the distributional impact of using administrative records race and Hispanic origin data to complete missing responses in a decennial census or survey context.
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When Race and Hispanic Origin Reporting are Discrepant Across Administrative Records and Third Party Sources: Exploring Methods to Assign Responses
December 2015
Working Paper Number:
carra-2015-08
The U.S. Census Bureau is researching uses of administrative records and third party data in survey and decennial census operations. One potential use of administrative records is to utilize these data when race and Hispanic origin responses are missing. When federal and third party administrative records are compiled, race and Hispanic origin responses are not always the same for an individual across sources. We explore different methods to assign one race and one Hispanic response when these responses are discrepant. We also describe the characteristics of individuals with matching, non-matching, and missing race and Hispanic origin data by demographic, household, and contextual variables. We find that minorities, especially Hispanics, are more likely to have non-matching Hispanic origin and race responses in administrative records and third party data compared to the 2010 Census. Minority groups and individuals ages 0-17 are more likely to have missing race or Hispanic origin data in administrative records and third party data. Larger households tend to have more missing race data in administrative records and third party data than smaller households.
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Coverage and Agreement of Administrative Records and 2010 American Community Survey Demographic Data
November 2014
Working Paper Number:
carra-2014-14
The U.S. Census Bureau is researching possible uses of administrative records in decennial census and survey operations. The 2010 Census Match Study and American Community Survey (ACS) Match Study represent recent efforts by the Census Bureau to evaluate the extent to which administrative records provide data on persons and addresses in the 2010 Census and 2010 ACS. The 2010 Census Match Study also examines demographic response data collected in administrative records. Building on this analysis, we match data from the 2010 ACS to federal administrative records and third party data as well as to previous census data and examine administrative records coverage and agreement of ACS age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin responses. We find high levels of coverage and agreement for sex and age responses and variable coverage and agreement across race and Hispanic origin groups. These results are similar to findings from the 2010 Census Match Study.
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Evaluating Race and Hispanic Origin Responses of Medicaid Participants Using Census Data
April 2015
Working Paper Number:
carra-2015-01
Health and health care disparities associated with race or Hispanic origin are complex and continue to challenge researchers and policy makers. With the intention of improving the measurement and monitoring of these disparities, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 require states to collect, report and analyze data on demographic characteristics of applicants and participants in Medicaid and other federally supported programs. By linking Medicaid records to 2010 Census, American Community Survey, and Census 2000, this new large-scale study examines and documents the extent to which pre-ACA Medicaid administrative records match self-reported race and Hispanic origin in Census data. Linked records allow comparisons between individuals with matching and non-matching race and Hispanic origin data across several demographic, socioeconomic and neighborhood characteristics, such as age, gender, language proficiency, education and Census tract variables. Identification of the groups most likely to have non-matching and missing race and Hispanic origin data in Medicaid relative to Census data can inform strategies to improve the quality of demographic data collected from Medicaid populations.
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The Use of Administrative Records and the American Community Survey to Study the Characteristics of Undercounted Young Children in the 2010 Census
May 2018
Working Paper Number:
carra-2018-05
Children under age five are historically one of the most difficult segments of the population to enumerate in the U.S. decennial census. The persistent undercount of young children is highest among Hispanics and racial minorities. In this study, we link 2010 Census data to administrative records from government and third party data sources, such as Medicaid enrollment data and tenant rental assistance program records from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to identify differences between children reported and not reported in the 2010 Census. In addition, we link children in administrative records to the American Community Survey to identify various characteristics of households with children under age five who may have been missed in the last census. This research contributes to what is known about the demographic, socioeconomic, and household characteristics of young children undercounted by the census. Our research also informs the potential benefits of using administrative records and surveys to supplement the U.S. Census Bureau child population enumeration efforts in future decennial censuses.
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Reporting of Indian Health Service Coverage in the American Community Survey
May 2018
Working Paper Number:
carra-2018-04
Response error in surveys affects the quality of data which are relied on for numerous research and policy purposes. We use linked survey and administrative records data to examine reporting of a particular item in the American Community Survey (ACS) - health coverage among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) through the Indian Health Service (IHS). We compare responses to the IHS portion of the 2014 ACS health insurance question to whether or not individuals are in the 2014 IHS Patient Registration data. We evaluate the extent to which individuals misreport their IHS coverage in the ACS as well as the characteristics associated with misreporting. We also assess whether the ACS estimates of AIANs with IHS coverage represent an undercount. Our results will be of interest to researchers who rely on survey responses in general and specifically the ACS health insurance question. Moreover, our analysis contributes to the literature on using administrative records to measure components of survey error.
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Factors that Influence Change in Hispanic Identification: Evidence from Linked Decennial Census and American Community Survey Data
October 2018
Working Paper Number:
CES-18-45
This study explores patterns of ethnic boundary crossing as evidenced by changes in Hispanic origin responses across decennial census and survey data. We identify socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic factors associated with Hispanic response change. In addition, we assess whether changes in the Hispanic origin question between the 2000 and 2010 censuses influenced changes in Hispanic reporting. We use a unique large dataset that links a person's unedited responses to the Hispanic origin question across Census 2000, the 2010 Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey five-year file. We find that most of the individuals in the sample identified consistently as Hispanic regardless of changes in the wording of the Hispanic origin question. Individuals who changed in or out of a Hispanic identification, as well as those who consistently identified as non-Hispanic (of Hispanic ancestry), differed in socioeconomic and cultural characteristics from individuals who consistently reported as Hispanic. The likelihood of changing their Hispanic origin response is higher among U.S.-born individuals, those reporting mixed Hispanic and non-Hispanic ancestries, those who speak only English at home, and those who live in tracts that are predominantly non-Hispanic. Racial identification and detailed Hispanic background also influence changes in Hispanic origin responses. Finally, changes in mode and relationship to the reference person in the household are associated with changes in Hispanic origin responses, suggesting that data collection elements also can influence Hispanic origin response change.
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Examining Racial Identity Responses Among People with Middle Eastern and North African Ancestry in the American Community Survey
March 2024
Working Paper Number:
CES-24-14
People with Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) backgrounds living in the United States are defined and classified as White by current Federal standards for race and ethnicity, yet many MENA people do not identify as White in surveys, such as those conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Instead, they often select 'Some Other Race', if it is provided, and write in MENA responses such as Arab, Iranian, or Middle Eastern. In processing survey data for public release, the Census Bureau classifies these responses as White in accordance with Federal guidance set by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Research that uses these edited public data relies on limited information on MENA people's racial identification. To address this limitation, we obtained unedited race responses in the nationally representative American Community Survey from 2005-2019 to better understand how people of MENA ancestry report their race. We also use these data to compare the demographic, cultural, socioeconomic, and contextual characteristics of MENA individuals who identify as White versus those who do not identify as White. We find that one in four MENA people do not select White alone as their racial identity, despite official guidance that defines 'White' as people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. A variety of individual and contextual factors are associated with this choice, and some of these factors operate differently for U.S.-born and foreign-born MENA people living in the United States.
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Assimilation and Coverage of the
Foreign-Born Population in Administrative Records
April 2015
Working Paper Number:
carra-2015-02
The U.S. Census Bureau is researching ways to incorporate administrative data in decennial census and survey operations. Critical to this work is an understanding of the coverage of the population by administrative records. Using federal and third party administrative data linked to the American Community Survey (ACS), we evaluate the extent to which administrative records provide data on foreign-born individuals in the ACS and employ multinomial logistic regression techniques to evaluate characteristics of those who are in administrative records relative to those who are not. We find that overall, administrative records provide high coverage of foreign-born individuals in our sample for whom a match can be determined. The odds of being in administrative records are found to be tied to the processes of immigrant assimilation - naturalization, higher English proficiency, educational attainment, and full-time employment are associated with greater odds of being in administrative records. These findings suggest that as immigrants adapt and integrate into U.S. society, they are more likely to be involved in government and commercial processes and programs for which we are including data. We further explore administrative records coverage for the two largest race/ethnic groups in our sample - Hispanic and non-Hispanic single-race Asian foreign born, finding again that characteristics related to assimilation are associated with administrative records coverage for both groups. However, we observe that neighborhood context impacts Hispanics and Asians differently.
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An outside view: What do observers say about others' races and Hispanic origins?
August 2015
Working Paper Number:
carra-2015-05
Outsiders' views of a person's race or Hispanic origin can impact how she sees herself, how she reports her race and Hispanic origins, and her social and economic experiences. The way outsiders describe non-strangers in terms of their race and Hispanic origin may reveal popular assumptions about which race/Hispanic categories are salient for Americans, which kinds of people are seen as multiracial, and the types of cues people use when identifying another person's race. We study patterns of observer identification using a unique, large, linked data source with two measures of a person's race and Hispanic origin. One measure (from Census 2000 or the 2010 Census) was provided by a household respondent and the other (from the other census year) was provided by a census proxy reporter (e.g., a neighbor) who responded on behalf of a non-responsive household. We ask: Does an outsider's report of a person's race and Hispanic origin match a household report? We find that in about 90% of our 3.7 million (nonrepresentative) cases, proxy reports of a person's race and Hispanic origin match responses given by the household in a different census year. Match rates are high for the largest groups: non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Asians and for Hispanics, though proxies are not very able to replicate the race responses of Hispanics. Matches are much less common for people in smaller groups (American Indian/Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, Some Other Race, and multiracial). We also ask: What predicts a matched response and what predicts a particular unmatched response? We find evidence of the persistence of hypodescent for blacks and hyperdescent for American Indians. Biracial Asian-whites and Pacific Islander-whites are more often seen by others as non-Hispanic white than as people of color. Proxy reporters tend to identify children as multiple race and elders as single race, whether they are or not. The race/Hispanic composition of the tract is more powerfully predictive of a particular unmatched response than are tract-level measures of socioeconomic status; unmatched responses are often consistent with the race/Hispanic characteristics of the neighborhood.
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Foreign-Born and Native-Born Migration in the U.S.: Evidence from IRS Administrative and Census Survey Records
July 2018
Working Paper Number:
carra-2018-07
This paper details efforts to link administrative records from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to American Community Survey (ACS) and 2010 Census microdata for the study of migration among foreign-born and native-born populations in the United States. Specifically, we (1) document our linkage strategy and methodology for inferring migration in IRS records; (2) model selection into and survival across IRS records to determine suitability for research applications; and (3) gauge the efficacy of the IRS records by demonstrating how they can be used to validate and potentially improve migration responses for native-born and foreign-born respondents in ACS microdata. Our results show little evidence of selection or survival bias in the IRS records, suggesting broad generalizability to the nation as a whole. Moreover, we find that the combined IRS 1040, 1099, and W2 records may provide important information on populations, such as the foreign-born, that may be difficult to reach with traditional Census Bureau surveys. Finally, while preliminary, the results of our comparison of IRS and ACS migration responses shows that IRS records may be useful in improving ACS migration measurement for respondents whose migration response is proxy, allocated, or imputed. Taking these results together, we discuss the potential application of our longitudinal IRS dataset to innovations in migration research on both the native-born and foreign-born populations of the United States.
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