Hello,
I am comparing data from IPUMS CPS Outgoing rotation group (ORG) to NBER ORG for 2018.
On comparing those eligible for the Earner Study in IPUMS (variable name ‘eligorg’) to NBER (variable name ‘eligible’), I find that the records don’t match and IPUMS has a higher number flagged as eligible (n= 157,931) compared to NBER (n=145,871).
Is there an explanation to why the counts differ for the same sample of individuals between the age 23 and 79?
Thank you!
This is a good question, unfortunately I don’t have a great answer. In IPUMS, the outgoing rotation group is just a sub-set of the basic monthly samples. Those eligible for the outgoing rotation group are identified via ELIGORG. This is how the data is provided by the BLS and the Census Bureau. In NBER, the merged outgoing rotation group data is a separate product and the documentation about how this separate product is constructed is lacking. The IPUMS CPS Team does has a long-term goal of replicating every CPS data product available on the NBER website, but at the present time the merged outgoing rotation groups is a work in progress.