Infrastructure for Population Analysis

SES-1155572

Steven Ruggles

University of Minnesota Population Center

Infrastructure for Population Analysis

Abstract

This project will create a large-scale database that will make possible analyses of long-term economic and social change. The database will cover the entire US population with full geographic detail, providing contextual information on childhood neighborhood characteristics and labor-market conditions. The project is funded collaboratively by the Minnesota Population Center with the nation?s largest producer of genealogical data, and it receives funding from the Census Bureau, the National Archives and Records Administration, in addition to the NSF. This collaboration allows a highly cost-effective use of scarce resources for shared infrastructure for social and behavioral research. The component funded by the National Science Foundation involves digitizing the supplemental 1940 Census questions, including the parental birthplaces, veteran status, Social Security enrollment, occupation, marital status, number of children born, and other information collected for the first time.

The project involves (1) transcription of data describing the demographic and economic characteristics of individuals, families, households, and group quarters present in the United States; and (2) evaluation of data quality through random blind verification and comparison with published census returns. The outcome of the project will be a raw data file providing a transcription of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the 1940 population of the United States. Researchers will be able to link Census data to e.g., panel surveys, administrative records, and the national death index, allowing study of the impact of early life conditions on later outcomes. The database will also enable innovative multi-level spatial analysis impossible to conduct until now.

Broader Impacts

This Census database seeks to enhance scientific and public understanding of critical policy-related issues, such as population aging, migration, economic mobility, and the impact of government policy on economic development and well-being. The new database will make a permanent and substantial addition to the country's statistical infrastructure, serving as a foundational reference collection with potentially far-reaching implications for research across the social and behavioral sciences. The project will also offer substantial research training to undergraduate and graduate students.