A substantial IPUMS contingent traveled to Cape Town, South Africa for the IUSSP International Population Conference (IPC) from October 29th to November 3rd, 2017.  This conference happens once every four years in rotating international locations, bringing together demographers and population scientists from hundreds of universities and research organizations around the world. A number of IPUMS-affiliated students, faculty, and researchers presented research or organized paper sessions at the conference.

• IPUMS research staff members Matt Sobek, Kristen Jeffers, and Rodrigo Lovaton presented papers describing enhancements to and applications of IPUMS data.
• MPC graduate student trainees Maryia Bakhtsiyarava and Anna Bolgrien presented pieces of their doctoral research.  
• Faculty Members Liz Boyle, Audrey Dorélien, Dave Hacker, and Rob Warren presented research.
• Deborah Levison and Ragui Assad organized, chaired, and served as discussants in sessions related to labor force participation.

  Continue reading…

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In this blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

Why don’t my calculations perfectly match official statistics?

Continue reading…

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In this blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

How can I merge my IPUMS CPS file with an NBER CPS file?

Continue reading…

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In this blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

How do I link basic monthly samples with the ASEC sample?

Continue reading…

Boundaries change frequently, and one has to account for that when comparing data across time. This blog post explains how IPUMS-I approaches the task of mapping historical boundaries.

Overview

• IPUMS International disseminates census microdata for Nicaragua in 1971, 1995 & 2005.
• Data are available for departments (primary administrative unit) and municipalities (second administrative unit).
• Boundary maps from the most recent census are readily available, but older maps like those from the 1971 need to be constructed. Due to numerous boundary changes, it is not always possible to recreate older administrative divisions based on the most current map—sometimes we have to look further in the past.

According to the 1971 Census of Nicaragua, the country was divided at that time into 127 municipalities. However, there was no map for 1971 and the maps available for 1995 and 2005 showed 145 and 154 municipalities, respectively—not 127, as in 1971. We had to identify what changes had occurred in the administrative division of Nicaragua during the 1971 to 1995 period and recreate a map that matched the 1971 census microdata.

Continue reading…

At IPUMS we try to address every user’s questions and suggestions about our data. It is just one feature that adds value to IPUMS data. Over time, many questions are often repeated. In this blog series, we will be sharing some of these frequently asked questions. Maybe you’ll learn something, or perhaps you’ll just find these interesting. Regardless, we hope you enjoy.

Here’s one of those questions:

Why is the 2014 sample twice as large as the total population?

Continue reading…