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Cited by 456

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The Extent of Measurement Error In Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make A Right?

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Bound, John, Krueger, Alan·1989·National Bureau of Economic Research
DOI 10.3386/w2885
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Abstract

This paper examines the properties and prevalence of measurement error in longitudinal earnings data.The analysis compares Current Population Survey data to administrative Social Security payroll tax records for a sample of heads of households over two years.In contrast.to the typically assumed properties of measurement error, the results indicate that errors are serially correlated over two years and negatively correlated with true earnings (i.e., mean reverting).Moreover, reported earnings are more reliable for females than males.Overall, the ratio of the variance of the signal to the total variance is .82for men and .92for women.These ratios fall to .65 and .81when the data are specified in first-differences.The estimates suggest that longitudinal earnings data may be more reliable than previously believed.

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Metadata

Authors
Bound, J., & Krueger, A.
Venue
National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher
National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
1989-03
DOI
10.3386/w2885
OpenAlex
W3124540394
Cited by
456
References
0
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Extent of Measurement Error In Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make A Right? https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3386/w2885
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Bound, J., & Krueger, A. (1989). The Extent of Measurement Error In Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make A Right? National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w2885

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