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4 Implications for a New Study
Pages 31-44

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From page 31...
... Data Sources Possible data sources for a new study of social mobility include followups of existing surveys, linkages to administrative records, and a new stand-alone survey. The different instruments have different strengths and weaknesses and also might be used in combination.
From page 32...
... Regarding definition of the population to be studied, Warren considered whether samples of different generations would be representative. In studying how social origins affect people's adult outcomes, a cross-section of American adults could be designated Generation 0 (G0)
From page 33...
... For financial cost, "the most expensive option is to collect new data, and the least expensive option is administrative record data, with supplementing existing surveys in the middle." Regarding sample size, a new survey would probably study a much smaller sample, administrative record data would have the largest sample size, and supplementing existing surveys is again in the middle. Regarding topical coverage, a new survey might be quite restricted due to costs, and administrative data includes a very narrow range of topics.
From page 34...
... "In general," Warren summarized, "the more sensitive the data we collect, the greater the risk to the subjects, and thus the greater restrictions on its use. If we have data that are perfect in every respect, but it takes each of us three years to get permission to analyze it, and only a small number of people can ever analyze it, that is not every useful." Warren then used these eight parameters to evaluate nine existing smaller-scale surveys, two larger surveys, linkages with administrative record data, and prospectively a new stand-alone survey.
From page 35...
... On the last parameter of privacy and data access, Warren confirmed that data from each of these nine surveys are generally freely available, except for the detailed geographical information available only through restricted use data agreements. Warren's "bottom line" regarding the nine existing smaller-scale surveys is that GSS and SIPP would be the best candidates to serve as the basis for a new study of social and economic mobility.
From page 36...
... The ACS could also be linked to administrative data records. With reference to the eight parameters, Warren noted that although population coverage rates in the ACS are not perfect, the survey does include institutionalized people.
From page 37...
... Finally, he said, "it is not clear that one could ever get permission to do it." New Stand-Alone Survey The last option Warren considered is a stand-alone survey, a new data collection operation that would make possible an updated assessment of rates and patterns of social mobility in the United States. The new data could potentially be linked to a range of administrative data from the SSA, IRS, Census Bureau, as well as such records as school transcripts.
From page 38...
... Possible Next Steps Having evaluated these different data sources along the eight parameters and weighed their costs and benefits, Warren said he was left with a clear conclusion: "There is no perfect solution." Nonetheless, for pursuing a new study of social mobility, Warren proceeded to identify five "especially promising options" which, he noted, were not mutually exclusive. Warren also shared some of his preferences regarding these options, leading to further discussion.
From page 39...
... The tremendous value of administrative data was also emphasized, particularly for capturing intergenerational correlations. Warren concurred and noted that, among existing surveys, "the ACS would be the easiest to link to IRS or Social Security records because the data are collected in a way that allows for this." In response to a question about data accessibility, Warren clarified that, in contrast to linking two federally mandated data sources, a follow-up survey of people already in the ACS "does not raise disclosure issues." Data Gathering Any new data-gathering effort on social mobility will face a number of design issues involving selection of competing measures, timeframes, units of analysis, and overarching goals.
From page 40...
... The relevant variable for occupational status is job title; retrospective report of parental information by adult children is also considered reliable. Another approach to assessing socioeconomic standing utilizes economic measures.
From page 41...
... The costs are different. If economic mobility will be addressed in an optimal manner, that means we need to collect parental economic information." Torche mentioned alternative methodological strategies for meeting the challenge, including the two-sample instrumental variable, synthetic parental cohorts, direct-merging of datasets, and panel surveys.
From page 42...
... The theme of description and explanation as different possible goals of a new study of social mobility sparked further discussion among participants at the close of the workshop. Chandra Muller cautioned against a too-ambitious study aimed at explaining mobility, noting, "In my experience in putting together studies, starting big initially is often grounds for not succeeding in the long run." She proposed starting small, "piggybacking" on existing studies to "eke out" whatever was possible, and then addressing new topics incrementally.
From page 43...
... To Mare, "It all depends on what we think mobility is," and "if we are not measuring this over appropriate units, then we do not have anything." Michael Hout recalled that the first point of emphasis of his presentation was that social mobility is in many ways the wrong object of study and that the focus should instead be on the transmission of social circumstances across generations -- that is, "are people today doing better or worse than their families when they were growing up? " Making any progress on that question requires truly wrestling with "What do we mean by family and what do we mean by worse?


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