Abstract
Clyde Tucker, Brian Meekins,and Paul Biemer (2008)
"A Microlevel Latent Class Model for Measurement Error in the Consumer
Expenditure Interview Survey"
Previous research by Tucker et al. (2005) and Tucker et al. (2006) attempts to identify a latent construct that predicts
the amount of measurement error in expenditure reports on the Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey (CEIS).
While this work was successful in identifying a construct that predicts measurement error in expenditure reports, it is
more sensitive to falsely negative reports of the entire purchase than it is to the underreporting of the amount of
expenditure for that purchase. Current research focuses more deeply on the underreporting of expenditure amounts for
a number of different commodities. Together, with previously explored indicators such as, the number of contacts,
missing on the income question, the length of the interview, and the use of records, we examine new indicators
describing the experience of the CU throughout the panel, resulting in a new latent construct. Although we find that
our newly developed latent constructs have strong validity, appearing to measure report quality, it does little to explain
either the overall level of expenditure or the difference in expenditure reports between interviews.
Last Modified Date: June 4, 2009
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