The German Microcensus as a Tool for Longitudinal Data Analysis: An Evaluation Using SOEP Data

The German Microcensus is a rotating panel, where the units stay in the survey for four observations. Because of the very large sample size and the mandatory participation it appears to be a valuable data base for short duration analysis. However, the German Microcensus (MC) uses area sampling where participants are not followed if they leave the area. Consequently there is no information on participants after they move. We investigate how the use of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) can help to measure the non-coverage bias of the MC. Our methodology is evaluated for labour force flows. The results indicate that the SOEP is a valuable instrument for assessing the non-coverage bias in the MC. For labour force flows the non-coverage bias of the MC appears to be only of moderate size.