To be more precise about my research interest , I think it would be more suitable if I can keep track of a unique CPSIDP till it finishes the 16 month cycle of the 4-8-4 formation. So, after going through and reading a few more relevant posts and very helpful feedback of IPUMS community I came with the following command to create the 16 month panel ( which I adapted a little from the command given in this post : FAILURE: Linking to the Same Calendar Month across Two Consecutive Years from JULY 1994 to AUGUST 1995
gen time = ym(year, month)
forvalues t=372(1)680{
keep if (time== t' & mish==8)|(time== t’-16 & mish==4)
order cpsidp year month
sort cpsidp year month
by cpsidp: gen obs=_N
by cpsidp: drop if obs!=2
In the above command , I just changed the third line from the one provided in the post by putting time== t’-16 instead of time== t’-12 , since I’m trying to link observation throughout 16 months instead of making it a one year panel data.
And, the command provided in the post is for finding EARNWEEK , whereas in my case the outcome is INCWAGE and UHRSWEEK1. Are using the mish==8 and mish==4 correct choice of values given that I’m creating a 16 month panel data whereas the post maker was creating one year panel data ?
I hope I’m making sense. And, if my post goes a little off track because of not holding a good grip over the basic concept - any helpful suggestion or advice is very much welcome from respected IPUMS community !