Economic and Social Mobility New Directions for Data, Research, and Policy (2025) / Chapter Skim
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6 Data Infrastructure
6 Data Infrastructure
Pages 167-205
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From page 167... ...
For all of these reasons, large samples that cover long periods are typically needed to measure mobility and the wide range of mechanisms that potentially affect mobility. This chapter begins by summarizing how the current data infrastructure meets these many challenges.
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From page 168... ...
The chapter text is followed by tables outlining surveys and datasets pertinent to economic and social mobility, as well as a glossary of relevant terms. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DATA RESOURCES Survey Data Annex Table 6-1 lists some of the survey data that have been used to study intergenerational mobility in the United States.
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From page 169... ...
and intergenerational mobility (CILS) of immigrants.
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Linked Administrative Data The surveys described above will no doubt continue to be important resources for research addressing many of the mechanisms that lie behind intergenerational mobility. At the same time, other important research questions cannot readily be answered with surveys, as the available sample sizes are too small to disaggregate by neighborhood, detailed occupation, detailed racial/ethnic groups, and other important sources of variability in mobility processes.
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Another problem is that, prior to 1940, Census data contained information about occupation, industry, and literacy, but no information on wage earnings or educational attainment. The 1940 Decennial Census was the first to include information about wages and education.
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However, as noted, projects like LIFE-M also have limitations related to the Census data to which they link. The Census Tree Project The Census Tree project combines Census information with a diverse set of records on FamilySearch.org, one of the largest user-created genealogical platforms (Price et al., 2021)
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Linked Census Bureau Data For Census Bureau products that do not meet the 72-year rule, the Census Bureau allows researchers to apply for access to linked administrative datasets that are then analyzed in Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) by researchers with Special Sworn Status (with disclosure avoidance review undertaken to ensure that publicly released statistics do not allow for reidentification)
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The first set of data sources in Annex Table 6-2 pertain to intergenerational mobility and other data (e.g., poverty, employment) aggregated up to different types of spatial units (e.g., neighborhoods, states)
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The final set of data sources in Annex Table 6-2 provides measurements of policy, government finances, structural racism, and state laws. The Census Bureau's Mobility, Opportunity, and Volatility (MOVS)
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Because names in the 1960–1990 censuses are handwritten and saved in microfiche, the Census Bureau -- in collaboration with Opportunity Insights, Brown University, the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality -- has developed 8 There is the possibility that the linked individual- and household-level data will be made available to researchers in the future. 9 https://www.minneapolisfed.org/institute/income-distributions-and-dynamics-in-america 10 There have, however, been internal Census Bureau analyses of these birth cohorts.
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To protect the confidentiality of individuals in the Census, these linked longitudinal data will again be available only to a select set of researchers who can obtain Special Sworn Status and conduct their research in FSRDCs. While these restrictions limit who can access the data, the Census Bureau and other agencies are working to lower the cost of access while still protecting respondent confidentiality.
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Coleridge Initiative members who are enabling interstate data sharing via the Administrative Data Research Facility. Other Data Linkage Initiatives The sources of longitudinal data described above form the core of the data available to study intergenerational mobility, but they can be supplemented with outcomes from different sources.
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. Combining administrative records with other longitudinal data using PIKs will allow research on many new outcomes, mechanisms, and contextual factors shaping the transmission of intergenerational mobility.
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Although it is no easy task to infer wealth from tax data, the most fundamental problem is that of data access. To date, only a small number of research teams have access to the data needed to build unit-record wealth data, a limitation that undermines basic science, policy evaluation, and the development of new policy.
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From page 181... ...
Census Bureau and Statistics of Income are currently collaborating to develop new occupational coding algorithms for the occupational write-ins on Form 1040 that will be comparable to the occupation codes available in the ACS and decennial censuses. These data should improve accuracy of occupational information available in more standard data, such as the ACS or CPS, as well as with the tax data.
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. Encouraging the Census Bureau and the Department of Education to work together to link (using PIKs)
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, housing subsidies, health insurance from Medicare and Medicaid, or the earned income tax credit. Given that existing research highlights the important role monetary income plays in intergenerational mobility, it would be useful to know the impact nonmonetary sources have on mobility, especially for low-income groups.
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Ongoing Problems With Data Quality Issues with data quality also limit studies of intergenerational mobility. Hidden, Difficult to Link, or Small Populations The administrative datasets currently being built would ideally represent populations that are often hidden from view.
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The Census Bureau's initial effort to conduct an administrative records census demonstrates the potential value of administrative data and the ability to identify difficult-to-reach or small populations, such as noncitizens. At present, however, these populations are not sampled with sufficient frequency or at high-enough rates or are excluded from administrative data altogether, making them difficult or impossible to study.
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Although the 2018 Evidence Act mandated that federal agencies increase data sharing and researcher access to these data, only a few agencies other than the U.S. Census Bureau are providing access.
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. Additional methods are in development at the federal statistical agencies (IRS, Census Bureau FSRDCs)
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FSRDCs provide researchers secure access to restricted federal data outside of the Census Bureau. Currently, there are 33 FSRDCs located around the country, and the Census Bureau plans to add three more in 2024 and possibly another four in the near future.
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The Standard Application Process (SAP) allows researchers to request access to confidential data from federal statistical agencies using a single application portal.
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This chapter also makes clear that, while linked administrative data form the backbone of data resources used to study intergenerational mobility, research still requires survey data to understand factors affecting mobility that are not found in administrative data or are not made available for research purposes. Surveys provide information regarding attitudes, behaviors, and contexts not contained in administrative data.
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In addition, only one part of the originally proposed CIPSEA, which governs access to administrative records at other federal statistical agencies, was enacted. The remaining portion, which would have formalized the requirements for sharing data across federal agencies and with nongovernmental researchers, has never been enacted by Congress.
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Recommendation 6-1: Building on the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) , the chief statistician of the United States should work with federal agencies to advise legislators and policymakers to address the need for revisions to regulations to improve data sharing across federal statistical agencies, including: a.
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Census Bureau so that it can conduct an annual administrative record census. Conclusion 6-2: The data structure for studying economic and social mobility will be strengthened if state agencies provide (1)
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providing remote access to Federal Statistical Research Data Centers to facilitate data sharing with more researchers. The National Secure Data Service should also work with federal agencies to ensure that these improved data access, analysis, and linking mechanisms are implemented.
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Conclusion 6-4: In order to facilitate data access for studying economic and social mobility, funding is required for streamlining the data application process, improving linking, supporting Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) , enhancing the survey infrastructure, and expanding qualitative research.
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, and access the various tools (e.g., occupation crosswalks, contextual data) needed to carry out mobility research.
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Census Bureau)
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A National Mobility Center could serve as a key resource for facilitating data access, reporting on current mobility statistics and analyzing trends, identifying promising systemic and institutional interventions, developing viable approaches for evaluation, and building an interdisciplinary research community to study economic and social mobility.
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Panel 1984 birth cohorts young adults planned for 2026 covered; small sample size Limited geographic coverage; Wisconsin Longitudinal 1938–1940 birth ~10,000 Wisconsin high Long-running coverage of full life course of Wisconsin limited number of birth cohorts Study Panel cohorts school graduates high school graduates covered Future of Families and 1998–2000 birth ~5,000 children born in Rich and comprehensive interviews with parents and Small sample; limited number of Panel Child Wellbeing Study cohorts large cities children birth cohorts; young age of children Initial wave in 1995 secured educational, income, and National Longitudinal occupational data for one of the parents of each of the Study of Adolescent to adolescent participants; comprehensive health data Adult Health Panel 1975–1983 ~20,000 adolescents (including genetic markers) Limited coverage of birth cohorts Comprehensive measurement of program participation; Survey of Income and SIPP survey data can be matched to administrative Intragenerational panels are Program Participation ~14,000–52,000 earnings records (to carry out intergenerational relatively short in duration (up to 4 (SIPP)
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sophomores interviewed; extensive follow-up data Limited coverage of birth cohorts Rich coverage of secondary and postsecondary High School experiences (including transcripts) ; students' teachers, Longitudinal Study of ~1994–1995 (9th parents, and school administrators were also 2009 Panel graders in 2009)
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Spatial towns, cities, and rural areas interest" Number of visitors to points of interest (at a given time) Justice Outcomes Explorer Within the Criminal Justice Criminal justice outcomes by Per capita rate of prison inmates, misdemeanor charge rate, Administrative Records state, county, and commuting States, counties, commuting annual employment rate of felony defendants, Medicaid System (cjars.org)
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institution institution attributes educational institutions ethnicity Post-Secondary Employment Earnings and employment outcomes (via experimental Outcomes Postsecondary tabulations developed by the Longitudinal Employer(https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/ Educational Descriptive data for postsecondary educational institutions, Household Dynamics program at the U.S. Census pseo_experimental.html)
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Data infrastructure Includes data assets; the technologies used to discover, access, share, process, use, analyze, manage, store, preserve, protect, and secure those assets; the people, capacity, and expertise needed to manage, use, interpret, and understand data; the guidance, standards, policies, and rules that govern data access, use, and protection; the organizations and entities that manage, oversee, and govern the data infrastructure; and the communities and data subjects whose data are shared and used for statistical purposes and may be impacted by decisions made using those data assets (National Academies, 2023c)
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; Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of Transportation) ; Census Bureau (Department of Commerce)
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U.S. Code Title 26 Applies to the statistical work conducted by the Census Bureau's collection of data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
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