Survey of Consumer Finances, 1947

This data collection is one in a series of financial
surveys of consumers conducted annually since 1946. In a nationally
representative sample, the head of each spending unit (usually the
husband, the main earner, or the owner of the home) was
interviewed. The basic unit of reference in the study was the spending
unit, but some family data are also available. The questions in the
1947 survey covered the respondent's attitudes toward national
economic conditions and price activity, as well as the respondents'
own financial situation. Other questions examined the spending unit
head's occupation, and the nature and amount of the spending unit's
income, debts, liquid assets, changes in liquid assets, savings, and
actual and expected purchases of cars and other major durables. In
addition, the survey explored the subject of housing and home
ownership. The 1947 survey included a separate questionnaire for
farmers containing differing questions on sources of income. Personal
data include number of people in the spending unit, age, sex, and
education of the head, and the race and sex of the respondent.