Hi – I’m wondering why IPUMS CPS doesn’t have incearn but IPUMS USA does? If I add incwage, incfarm and incbus on IPUMS CPS would I get incearn?
Thanks!
The source data for IPUMS USA (US Census) and IPUMS CPS (US BLS) are different, and therefore the variables do not exactly overlap. The INCEARN variable in IPUMS USA reports the total of all personal earned income. In IPUMS CPS the INCTOT may be the single variable that is most closely related, identifying total personal income, but could be slightly different since it includes unearned sources of income. Combining INCWAGE, INCFARM, and INCBUS should be a close approximation to total personal earned income, but will not necessarily perfectly replicate INCEARN.