Imputed Variables with 'Market Value'

CPS
1

I understand that certain of the income variables in the CPS ASEC are entirely imputed, meaning that they are equal to an equivalent dollar value rather and that their values are not derived from a self report by respondent. For example, a response from an IPUMS staff member to this post helpfully clarifies that the values for SCHLLUNCH and HOUSSUB are imputed in the following way, “SCHLLUNCH is imputed based on how many individuals within a family receive school lunches. HOUSSUB is also imputed based on information about the market value of housing units in the family’s geographic area.”

From reading the documentation for FFNGCARE, PMVCAID, STIMULUS, CTCCRD, and ACTCCRD it would appear to me that they are also imputed using an estimated market value. FFNGCARE and PMVCAID specifically refer to a market value for these variables, but the others are less clear from the documentation and there doesn’t appear to be questionnaire text available in the documentation.

Is there technical documentation that clarifies whether and how these variables are imputed market values? If so, specific citations and links would be greatly appreciated!

2

You are correct that FFNGCARE and PMVCAID refer to the market value for these variables. These values are “imputed” based on responses by individuals to the CPS questionnaire. The STIMULUS variable was a new variable included only in the 2009 ASEC sample and is a product of the CPS tax model. The same goes for the CTCCRD and ACTCCRD variables. Documentation about the tax model is available here.

1 Like
3

Great! Thanks Jeff.

4

Just a minor follow up / suggestion: It would be helpful to add this info (i.e. values are not collected but, as other tax variables, imputed) to the descriptions of CTCCRD and ACTCCRD.

5

Thanks for the suggestion, I will pass this on to the IPUMS CPS team.