Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1991: Interview Survey, Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 6262)
The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) 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:
- A quarterly Interview Survey in which each consumer unit in the sample is interviewed every three months over a 15-month period, and
- 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, or expenditures that occur on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utilities, or insurance premiums. 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 Detailed Expenditure Files that comprise this data collection were created from all the major expenditure sections of the Interview Survey questionnaires. These files contain more detailed expenditure records than those found in the Interview Survey data tapes. In addition, the Detailed Expenditure Files include family characteristics (FMLY) files and income and member characteristics (MEMB) files identical to those found in the Interview Survey.
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1992: Interview Survey, Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 6440)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1993: Interview Survey (ICPSR 6580)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1993: Interview Survey, Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 6543)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1994: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 6710)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1995: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 2264)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1996: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 2794)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1997: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 2838)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1998: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 2971)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1999: Interview Survey and Detailed Expenditure Files (ICPSR 3228)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, Integrated Diary and Interview Survey Data, 1984-1994 (ICPSR 6714)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, Integrated Diary and Interview Survey Data, 1984-1995 (ICPSR 2262)
Consumer Expenditure Survey, Integrated Diary and Interview Survey Data, 1984-1996 (ICPSR 2796)
Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group Study [United States] (ICPSR 22325)
National Survey of the Aged [United States], 1962 (ICPSR 7687)
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 2004 Panel (ICPSR 4517)
This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals.
There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. These include age, sex, race, ethnic origin, marital status, household relationship, education, and veteran status. Limited data are provided on housing unit characteristics such as the number of units in the structure, tenure, access, and complete kitchen facilities. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, and participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs for each month of the four-month reference period. Data for employed persons include number of hours and weeks worked, earnings, and weeks without a job. Nonworkers are classified as unemployed or not in the labor force. In addition to providing income data associated with labor force activity, the core questions cover nearly 50 other types of income. Core data also include postsecondary school attendance, public or private subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are a series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits. Topical modules include some core data to link individuals to the core files. For more information on this study, see the SIPP Web site.
Information about child care is located in the topical modules for Waves III, V, VI, and VIII.
- The Wave I Topical Module covers recipiency and employment history.
- The Wave II Topical Module includes work disability, education and training, household relationships, marital, migration, and fertility histories.
- The Wave III Topical Module covers medical expenses and utilization of health care, work-related expenses and child support, assets and liabilities, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, vehicles, value of business, interest earning accounts, rental properties, stocks and mutual fund shares, mortgages, other assets, and child well-being.
- The Wave IV Topical Module covers adult well-being, work schedule, taxes, child care, and annual income and retirement accounts.
- Data in the Wave V Topical Module describe child support agreements, school enrollment and financing, support for nonhousehold members, adult and child disability, and employer-provided health benefits.
- The Wave VI Topical Module covers medical expenses and utilization of health care, work-related expenses, child support paid and child care, poverty, assets and liabilities, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, vehicles, value of business, interest earning accounts, rental properties, stock and mutual fund shares, mortgages, and other financial investments.
- The Wave VII Topical Module covers retirement, pension plan coverage, annual income, taxes, and retirement accounts. Variables on informal caregiving, such as who received unpaid care and how long they were cared for, are located in a separate topical module file.
- The Wave VIII Topical Module covers welfare reform, child well-being, and child care.