We examine the determinants of low income transitions using first-order Markov models that control for initial conditions effects (those found to be poor in the base year may be a nonrandom sample) and for attrition (panel retention may also be non-random). Our econometric model is a form of...

We discuss methods for calculating multivariate normal probabilities by simulation and two new Stata programs for this purpose: mvdraws for deriving draws from the standard uniform density using either Halton or pseudo-random sequences, and an egen function mvnp() for calculating the...

We analyse consent patterns and consent bias in the context of a large general household survey, the 'Improving survey measurement of income and employment' (ISMIE) survey, also addressing issues that arise when there are multiple consent questions. Using a multivariate probit regression model...

We model the dynamics of social assistance benefit receipt in Britain using data from the British Household Panel Survey, waves 1-15. First, we discuss definitions of social assistance benefit receipt, and present information about the trends between 1991 and 2005 in the receipt of social...

I interpret the 'distribution of income by sectors of the population' to refer to the personal distribution of income, with evidence about it derived from household surveys. Section 1 outlines the links between the personal and factor income distributions, and includes a discussion of research...

We provide a critique of the methods that have been used to derive measures of income risk and draw attention to the importance of demographic factors as a source of income risk. We also propose new measures of the contribution to total income risk of demographic and labour market factors....

Most UK surveys, including those used each year to derive the official UK income distribution statistics ('Households Below Average Income'), provide measures of current household income rather than annual household income, which is the measure used in most other countries. Using British...

We propose a framework for comparing the relationship between poverty and personal characteristics across countries (or across years), and use it to compare levels and patterns of relative poverty in the USA, Great Britain and Germany during the 1990s. The higher aggregate poverty rates in the...

Applying a method suggested by Woodruff (1971), we derive the sampling variances of Generalized Entropy and Atkinson inequality indices when estimated from complex survey data. It turns out that this method also greatly simplifies the calculations for the i.i.d. case when compared to previous...

Using an experimental design, we compare two alternative approaches to dependent interviewing (proactive and reactive) with traditional independent interviewing on a module of questions about sources of income. We believe this to be the first large-scale quantitative comparison of proactive and...