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The Survey of Income and Program Participation: Uses and Applications

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Working Paper Number SEHSD-WP1986-08 or SIPP-WP-02

What is the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)?

A report prepared for the House of Representative's Committee on Government Operations in November 1984 described the survey in this way:

"SIPP, first data from which will be released in the fall 1984, is intended to provide detailed information on the income and wealth of households with various social and economic characteristics. This information will be available to policymakers and researchers in Government and academia; about 20 Federal agencies are expected to make extensive use of the data in planning and evaluating their programs. A large sample of households is surveyed three times a year during a 2 ½ year period. SIPP will provide data on household income and assets at a given time, as well as longitudinal data showing changes in family circumstances during the 2 ½ year period.

Information collected will include detailed information on all sources of money and non-money income, including public assistance programs and employer-provided benefits and on financial assets. Also collected will be information on family characteristics, such as size, composition, and income and education of household members. A wide range of specialized income, expense, employment and program participation information from occasional one-time supplemental surveys also is planned. Some, but not all, of this information is available from the Current Population Survey. However, the Census Bureau anticipates that the SIPP data will be more useful because of more detailed and frequent questioning and the reporting of changes in household circumstances during a 2 ½ year period.

This longitudinal data following a household for 2 ½ years will show changes in family composition and its effect on economic well-being; characteristics of families eligible for government benefits and factors that may change their eligibility, changes in employment and their effects on income and other social and economic characteristics."

Page Last Revised - December 16, 2021
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