Income Component Cell Means Replacement Values

Due to numerous issues in estimating average incomes and income inequality using topcoded CPS income values, Larrimore et al. (2008) used restricted use CPS data to generate average incomes of topcoded individuals grouped by certain demographic characteristics. In the interest of our users, we are making Larrimore et al.'s data with IPUMS-compatible identifiers available for the years 1976 to 2000. Larrimore et al. (2008) uses the same technique as the Census Bureau implemented for replacement values starting in 1996. The cell means values from Larrimore and topcoded values already in Census public use and IPUMS data will be nearly identical from 1996 onward, except for 2000, where the Census has acknowledged some data error, as noted in Larrimore et al. (2008). For more discussion of income topcodes, see our Topcodes page.

The appropriate citation for the Larrimore et al. (2008) paper is:

Larrimore, Jeff, Richard V. Burkhauser, Shuaizhang Feng, and Laura Zayatz. "Consistent Cell Means for Topcoded Incomes in the Public Use March CPS (1976-2007)". Journal of Economic and Social Measurement 33(2/3): 89-128

Please note: These data include only income-topcoded individuals from 1976 to 2000. For each record, all income components are available, even if they are not topcoded. To combine with IPUMS ASEC samples, merge on: year serial pernum.

IPUMS-Compatible Cell Means Data Files

	Comma Delimited	Stata	SAS	SPSS
Data files 1976-2000	topcodes.txt	topcodes.dta	topcodes.sas7bdat	topcodes.sav

Below is the Stata syntax using IPUMS variables for dividing individuals into the characteristic groups defined by the Census Bureau and used in Larrimore et al. (2008). They are not necessary for most income analyses, but we provide them for users to better understand the replacement values method.

gen char = 0
replace char = 1 if sex == 1 & (hispan == 0 | hispan > 900) & race != 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 2 if sex == 1 & (hispan == 0 | hispan > 900) & race != 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)
replace char = 3 if sex == 1 & race == 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 4 if sex == 1 & race == 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)
replace char = 5 if sex == 1 & hispan > 0 & hispan < 500 & race != 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 6 if sex == 1 & hispan > 0 & hispan < 500 & race != 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)
replace char = 7 if sex == 2 & (hispan == 0 | hispan > 900) & race != 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 8 if sex == 2 & (hispan == 0 | hispan > 900) & race != 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)
replace char = 9 if sex == 2 & race == 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 10 if sex == 2 & race == 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)
replace char = 11 if sex == 2 & hispan > 0 & hispan < 500 & race != 200 & fullpart == 1 & wkswork1 >= 50
replace char = 12 if sex == 2 & hispan > 0 & hispan < 500 & race != 200 & (fullpart == 2 | wkswork1 < 50)

Income Component Rank Proximity Swap Values 1976-2010

In 2012, the Census Bureau released a series of revised income topcodes files. Each file contains income values to replace topcoded income components for every ASEC sample from 1975 to 2010. The purpose of this file, and the related file from Larrimore et al. (2008) (above), is to provide researchers with income data using a consistent topcoding method. We provide the Census Bureau revisions with IPUMS identifiers and income variable names. When merging the files, note that variables in the revised files will have a _swap ending so that the variables are differentiated from the data in an IPUMS extract. Every non-zero value in the swap values file should replace a topcoded value in IPUMS. All other values are missing or zero, meaning that the income variable is not available for that year or the income was not topcoded, respectively. Neither instance should replace IPUMS values. Merge on year serial pernum.

	Comma Delimited	Stata	SAS	SPSS
Data files 1976-2010	swapvalues.csv	swapvalues.dta	swapvalues.sas7bdat	swapvalues.sav

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