Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 1993 Panel

This data collection is part of a longitudinal survey designed to provide detailed information on the economic situation of households and persons in the United States. These data examine the distribution of income, wealth, and poverty in American society and gauge the effects of federal and state programs on the well-being of families and individuals. There are three basic elements contained in the survey. The first is a control card that records basic social and demographic characteristics for each person in a household, as well as changes in such characteristics over the course of the interviewing period. The second element is the core portion of the questionnaire, with questions repeated at each interview on labor force activity, types and amounts of income, participation in various cash and noncash benefit programs, attendance in postsecondary schools, private health insurance coverage, public or subsidized rental housing, low-income energy assistance, and school breakfast and lunch participation. The third element consists of topical modules, which are series of supplemental questions asked during selected household visits. Topical modules include some core data to link individuals to the core files. The Wave 1 Topical Module covers recipiency history, which includes welfare and other aid, and employment history. The Wave 2 Topical Module includes data on work disability, education and training, marital, migratory, and fertility histories, and household relationships. The Wave 3 Topical Module covers work schedule, child care, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, functional limitations and disability, and utilization of health care services. The Wave 4 Topical Module covers selected financial assets, medical expenses and work disability, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. The Wave 5 Topical Module covers annual income, retirement accounts, and taxes in one file and school enrollment and financing in the second file. The Wave 6 Topical Module covers the same subjects as the Wave 3 Topical Module, but in greater detail, and includes a section on children's well-being. The Wave 7 Topical Module covers assets and liabilities, medical expenses and work disabilities, real estate, shelter costs, dependent care, and vehicles. The Wave 8 Topical Module covers school enrollment and financing. The Wave 9 Topical Module covers retirement expectations and pension plan coverage, work schedule, child care, children's well-being, child support agreements, support for nonhousehold members, and basic needs, including ability to meet expenses, food adequacy, and minimum income.