# Is harmonized version of IND variable consistent?

**URL:** https://forum.ipums.org/t/is-harmonized-version-of-ind-variable-consistent/5161
**Category:** CPS
**Created:** [March 10, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/is-harmonized-version-of-ind-variable-consistent/5161 "2023-03-10T19:32:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Deokjae\_Jeong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Deokjae\_Jeong](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Deokjae_Jeong)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/is-harmonized-version-of-ind-variable-consistent/5161/1 "2023-03-10T19:32:03Z")

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I downloaded harmonized version of CPS starting from 1990 to 2020.  
I can see the data consist of IND, IND1990, and IND1950.  
If I use IND variable, is it consistently harmonized through 1990?  
The explanation below in IPUMS webpage makes me confused.  
 ![스크린샷 2023-03-10 113026](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/ipums/original/1X/7bb5fbcc85459760719917a7b89ed012d063db25.png)

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### Author: ![Matthew\_Bombyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Matthew\_Bombyk](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Matthew_Bombyk)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/is-harmonized-version-of-ind-variable-consistent/5161/2 "2023-03-13T20:30:24Z")

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No, the IND variable is not harmonized over this period. Each of the periods listed in your screenshot uses a different set of codes. The IND1990 and IND1950 variables are harmonized and generally consistent over time, although you should check out their comparability tabs ([IND1990](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/ind1990#comparability_section), [IND1950](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/ind1950#comparability_section)) for more details. You can see which IND codes make up each code in IND1990 or IND1950 each year using the method described in [this blog post](https://blog.popdata.org/occupation_industry_codes/).

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### Author: ![Deokjae\_Jeong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Deokjae\_Jeong](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Deokjae_Jeong)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/is-harmonized-version-of-ind-variable-consistent/5161/3 "2023-03-13T21:22:41Z")

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Dear Matthew,

Thank you so much! It helps a lot

Best  
Jay Jeong.