Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1990: Interview Survey (ICPSR 9820)

Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Summary: The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides a continuous flow of information on the buying habits of American consumers and also furnishes data to support periodic revisions of the Consumer Price Index. The survey consists of two separate components: (1) a quarterly Interview Survey in which each consumer unit in the sample is interviewed every three months over a 15-month period, and (2) a Diary Survey completed by the sample consumer units for two consecutive one-week ... (more info)

Series: Consumer Expenditure Survey Series

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U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEY, 1990: INTERVIEW SURVEY. ICPSR09820-v2. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census [producer], 1992. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1993. doi:10.3886/ICPSR09820.v2

Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09820.v2

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Summary:   The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides a continuous flow of information on the buying habits of American consumers and also furnishes data to support periodic revisions of the Consumer Price Index. The survey consists of two separate components: (1) a quarterly Interview Survey in which each consumer unit in the sample is interviewed every three months over a 15-month period, and (2) a Diary Survey completed by the sample consumer units for two consecutive one-week periods. The Interview Survey was designed to collect data on major items of expense, household characteristics, and income. The expenditures covered by the survey are those that respondents can recall fairly accurately for three months or longer. In general, these expenditures include relatively large purchases, such as those for property, automobiles, and major appliances, or expenditures that occur on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utilities, or insurance premiums. Expenditures incurred while on trips are also covered by the survey. Excluded are nonprescription drugs, household supplies, and personal care items. Including global estimates on spending for food, it is estimated that about 90 to 95 percent of expenditures are covered in the Interview Survey. The Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income (FMLY) files in this collection contain consumer unit characteristics, consumer unit income, and characteristics and earnings of both the reference person and the spouse. Summary expenditure data are also provided. The Member Characteristics and Income (MEMB) files present selected characteristics for each consumer unit member, including reference person and spouse. Each record in the FMLY and MEMB files consists of three months of data. Detailed Expenditures (MTAB) files provide monthly data at the Universal Classification Code (UCC) level. In these files expenditures for each consumer unit are classified according to UCC categories and are specified as gifts or non-gifts. There may be more than one record for a UCC in a single month if that is what was reported to the interviewer. The Income (ITAB) files supply monthly data at the UCC level for consumer unit characteristics and income.

Subject Terms:   automobile expenses, consumer behavior, consumer expenditures, consumption, debt, demographic characteristics, durable goods, employment, energy consumption, families, fixed income, food costs, household appliances, household budgets, household expenditures, household income, housing costs, insurance, purchasing, recreation expenses, taxes, unemployment benefits, vehicles, wages and salaries

Geographic Coverage:   United States

Time Period:  

• 1990

Universe:   Total civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States.

Data Types:   survey data

Sample:   The Consumer Expenditure Survey is based on a national probability sample of households. Households are selected from primary sampling units (PSUs), which consist of counties (or parts thereof), groups of counties, or independent cities. The set of sample PSUs used for the survey is composed of 101 areas, of which 85 urban areas have also been selected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Consumer Price Index program. The sampling frame from which housing units were selected was generated from the 1980 Census 100-percent detail file, augmented by new construction permits and coverage improvement techniques used to eliminate recognized deficiencies in that census. The sample design is a rotating panel survey in which one-fifth of the sample is dropped and a new group added each quarter. Each panel is interviewed for five consecutive quarters and then dropped from the survey.

Data Source:

personal interviews

Original ICPSR Release:  1992-10-31

Version History:

• 2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 30 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

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