Evaluating Wealth Data in Wave 4 of the Redesigned 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation

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Working Paper Number: SEHSD WP2021-05

Introduction

As part of the 2014 redesign of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), several changes were made to the wealth module of the survey to fill gaps in question content and improve clarity of existing questions. To evaluate the effects of these changes over the Panel, 2014 Wave 4 SIPP wealth data are compared with Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) wealth data to investigate how the match between the SIPP and the SCF changed from Wave 1 of the questionnaire redesign. We find that the match between the SIPP and the SCF has remained consistent for most wealth estimates between Waves 1 and 4, although some comparisons have changed. We offer potential explanations for why some estimates have shifted over time.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021