Collection of Innovative, High-Quality Data

The program has been studying policy issues in developing countries for more than three decades. From the beginning, the program's development studies have focused on how human resources and the actions of families and individuals influence a country's development process. A basic premise of this work is that policies to promote economic growth will succeed or fail depending on the response of individuals, especially poor people, to the changes that policies make in their surroundings. To document and analyze those responses, the program has invested heavily in collecting data and developing appropriate methodologies for use in multidisciplinary studies of fertility and contraception, infant mortality, health and nutrition, education, time allocation, income distribution, health care financing, and aging populations. Over the years, this work has made important advances in understanding development issues such as fertility, breastfeeding and infant mortality, and health care finance.

View Publications | View ProjectsPublications in this area:

Abrahamse, Allan, Peter A. Morrison, and Nancy Minter Bolton,"Surname Analysis for Estimating Local Concentration of Hispanics and Asians," Population Research and Policy Review, Vol. 13, No. 4, 1994, pp. 383 - 398 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-420).

Aykan, Hakan, Vicki A. Freedman, and Linda G. Martin, Re-weighting the Second Supplement on Aging to the 1994 National Health Interview Survey for Trend Analyses, DRU-2066, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.

Beckett, Megan K., and Marc N. Elliott, "Mortality and Sample Selection: Reply to Noymer," Journal of Health & Social Behavior, Vol. 42, No. 3, 2001, pp. 328-331 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-1000).

Beckett, Megan K., Maxine Weinstein, Noreen Goldman, Lin Yu-Hsuan, "Do Health Interview Surveys Yield Reliable Data on Chronic Illness Among Older Respondents?" American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 151, No. 3, 2000, pp. 315-323 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-882).

Beckett, Megan, Julie S. DaVanzo, Narayan Sastry, Constantijn W. A. Panis, and Christine E. Peterson, "The Quality of Retrospective Data: An Examination of Long-Term Recall in a Developing Country," Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2001, pp. 593-625 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-956).

Beegle, Kathleen, Elizabeth Frankenberg, and Duncan Thomas, Measuring Change in Indonesia, DRU-2014, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.

Bolton, Nancy Minter, Peter A. Morrison, and Allan Abrahamse, Surname Analysis for Estimating Local Concentration of Hispanics and Asians, P-7844, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1994.

DaVanzo, Julie S., Surveying Immigrant Communities: Policy Imperatives and Technical Challenges, MR-247, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1994.

DaVanzo, Julie S., Jeff Sine, Christine E. Peterson, and John Haaga, "Reversal of the Decline in Breastfeeding in Peninsular Malaysia? Ethnic and Educational Differentials and Data Quality Issues," Social Biology, Vol. 41, 1994 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-359).

DaVanzo, Julie S., John Haaga, Tey Nai Peng, Ellen H. Starbird, and Christine E. Peterson (with Population Studies Center, and Malaysian Family Development Board) The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: Survey Instruments, MR-107-NICHD/NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Eloundou-Enyegue, Parfait, and Julie S. DaVanzo. Economic Downturns and Schooling Inequality, Cameroon 1987-95. Population Studies, Volume 57, Issue 2, pp.183-197 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-1102).

Finch, Brian Karl, Designing Multidisciplinary Biobehavioral Research on Prematurity and LBW: Methodological Considerations, DRU-3113, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2003 (available in PDF).

Frankenberg, Elizabeth, "Community and Price Data in the Living Standards Measurement Surveys," in M. Grosh and P. Glewwe, eds., Designing Household Questionnaires for Developing Countries: Lessons from Ten Years of LSMS Experience, New York: The World Bank, 2000.

Frankenberg, Elizabeth, Lynn A. Karoly, Paul Gertler, Sulistinah Achmad, I. G. N. Agung, Sri Harijati Hatmadji, and Paramita Sudharto, The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Overview and Field Report, DRU-1195/1-NICHD/AID, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Goldman, Dana P., and James P. Smith, "Commentary: Methodological Biases in Estimating the Burden of Out-of-Pocket Expenses," Health Services Research, Vol. 35, No. 6, 2001, pp. 1357-1365 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-945).

Goldman, Noreen, Barbara Vaughan, and Anne R. Pebley, "The Use of Calendars to Measure Child Illness in Health Interview Surveys," International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 27, 1998, pp. 505-512.

Goldscheider, Frances, Ann Biddlecom, and Patricia St. Clair, A Comparison of Living Arrangements Data in the National Survey of Families and Households and the U.S. Censuses, 1940-1980, DRU-737, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1994.

Haaga, John, Julie S. DaVanzo, Christine E. Peterson, and Tey Nai Peng, "Twelve-Year Follow-Up of Respondents and Their Adult Children in a Panel Survey in Peninsular Malaysia," Asia-Pacific Population Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1994, pp. 61-72 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-358).

Haaga, John, Julie S. DaVanzo, Christine E. Peterson, Tey Nai Peng, and Tan Boon Ann, The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: Overview and Technical Report, MR-106-NICHD/NIA, 1994.

Haider, Steven , and Gary Solon, Nonrandom Selection in the HRS Social Security Earnings Sample, DRU-2254-NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004.

Hotz, V. Joseph , Jacob Alex Klerman, and Robert Willis, "The Economics of Fertility in Developed Countries: A Survey," in M. Rosenzweig and O. Stark, eds., Handbook of Population and Family Economics, Amsterdam, Netherlands: North-Holland, 1997, pp. 275-347 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-726).

Hurd, Michael D., "Anchoring and Acquiescence Bias in Measuring Assets in Household Surveys," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Vol. 19, No. 1-3, January 1999, pp. 111-136.

Jasso, Guillermina, Douglas S. Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and James P. Smith, "Assortative Mating Among Married New Immigrants to the United States: Evidence from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot Study," International Migration Review, Vol. 332, No. 2, 2000, pp. 443-459.

Jasso, Guillermina, Douglas S. Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and James P. Smith, "The New Immigrant Survey Pilot (NIS-P): Overview and New Findings About U.S. Legal Immigrants at Admission," Demography, Vol. 37, No. 1, February 2000, pp. 127-138.

Jasso, Guillermina, Douglas S. Massey, Mark R. Rosenzweig, and James P. Smith, "Family, Schooling, Religiosity, and Mobility Among New Legal Immigrants to the United States: Evidence from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot Study," in L. Tomasi and M. Powers, eds., Immigration Today: Pastoral and Research Challenges, Staten Island, NY: Center for Migration Studies, 1999.

Juster, F. Thomas, and James P. Smith, "Improving the Quality of Economic Data: Lessons from HRS and AHEAD," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 92, No. 440, December 1997, pp. 1268-1278.

Kapteyn, Arie, Pierre-Carl Michaud, James Smith, Arthur Van Soest,Effects of Attrition and Non-Response in the Health and Retirement Study, WR-407.

Klerman, Jacob Alex, Pitfalls of Panel Data: The Case of the SIPP Health Insurance Data, RP-111, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004.

Klerman, Jacob Alex, A Random-Effects Approach to Attrition Bias in the SIPP Health Insurance Data, RP-118, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004.

Klerman, Jacob Alex, Heaping in Retrospective Data: Insights from Malaysian Family Life Surveys' Breastfeeding Data, DRU-384, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Klerman, Jacob Alex, Peterson, Christine E., Jeffrey Sine, and Deborah Wesley, The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: Codebook, MR-108, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Klerman, Jacob Alex, Jeanne S. Ringel, and Elizabeth Roth ,Under-Reporting of Medicaid and Welfare in the Current Population Survey, (available in PDF) WR-169-3, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2005.

Kuate-Defo, Barthelemy , Julie S. DaVanzo, and Joanne Leslie"Using Quantitative & Qualitative Research Methodologies for Understanding Infant Feeding Practices (Chapter 2)," , Nutrition and Child Health in Cameroon, Barthelemy Kuate-Defo (ed.), 2001, pp. 53-78.

Lillard, Lee A., Research on Aging Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, DRU-939, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1995.

Lillard, Lee A., and Melissa M. Farmer, "Linking Medicare and National Survey Data," Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 127, No. 8, 1997, pp. 691-695.

Lillard, Lee A., and Constantijn W. A. Panis, "Panel Attrition from the PSID: Household Income, Marital Status, and Mortality," Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 33, No. 2, 1998, pp. 437-457.

Michaud, Pierre-Carl and Frederic Vermeulen, A Collective Labor Supply Model: Identification and Estimation in the Presence of Externalities by Means of Panel Data, WR-406.

Morrison, Peter A., Allan F. Abrahamse, and Nancy Bolton, "Surname Analysis for Estimating Local Concentration of Hispanics and Asians," Population Research and Policy Review, 1994.

Panis, Constantijn W. A., "The Piecewise Linear Spline Transformation with Application to Age at First Marriage," Stata Technical Bulletin, Vol. 18, March 1994, pp. 27-29.

Pebley, Anne R., and Narayan Sastry, The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey: Household Questionnaires, DRU 2400/3-2-LAFANS, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004.

Peterson, Christine E., Documentation for IFLS1-RR: Revised and Restructured 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey Data, Wave 1, DRU-1195/7-NICHD/AID, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Appendix A, Household Questionnaires and Interviewer Manual, DRU-1195/2-NICHD/AID, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Appendix B, Community Facility Questionnaires and Interviewer Manual, DRU-1195/3-NICHD/AID Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Appendix E, Users' Guide, DRU-1195/6-NICHD/AID, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: User's Guide, Christine E. Peterson, MR-109-NICHD/NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Peterson, Christine E., and Nancy Campbell, The First Malaysian Family Life Survey: Documentation for Subfiles, MR-111, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Peterson, Christine E., and Deborah Wesley, The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Appendix C, Household Codebook, DRU-1195/4-NICHD/AID, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., and Deborah Wesley, The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey: Appendix D, Community Facility Codebook, DRU-1195/5-NICHD/AID, 1995. This report is also available on-line at this site.

Peterson, Christine E., Jeffrey Sine, and Deborah Wesley, The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: Codebook, MR-108-NICHD/NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Peterson, Christine E., Deborah Wesley and Nicholas Murray, The 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey: Codebook for Community/Provider Survey, DRU-2018/5-NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.

Peterson, Christine E., Deborah Wesley and Nicholas Murray, The 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey: Codebook for Household Survey, DRU-2018/4-NIA, 1999.

Peterson, Christine E., Anne R. Pebley, Narayan Sastry, The Los Angeles Neighborhood Services and Characteristics Database: Codebook, WR-240/12-LAFANS.

Peterson, Christine E., Anne R. Pebley, Narayan Sastry, The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey: Neighborhood Observations Codebook, WR-240/13-LAFANS.

Peterson, Christine E., Narayan Sastry, Anne R. Pebley, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, Stephanie Williamson, and Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey: Codebook, DRU 2400/2-1-LAFANS, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2003.

Rahman, M. Omar, Jane Menken, Andy Foster, Paul Gertler, Mohammed Nizam Khan, Christine E. Peterson, and Randall Kuhn The 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey: Questionnaires for Household Survey, DRU-2018/2-NIA, 1999.

Rahman, M. Omar, Mizanur Rahman, Jane Menken, Andy Foster, Paul Gertler, Mohammed Nizam Khan, Christine E. Peterson, and Randall Kuhn The 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey: Overview and User's Guide, DRU-2018/1-NIA, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.

Rahman, M. Omar, Mizanur Rahman, Jane Menken, Andy Foster, Paul Gertler, Mohammed Nizam Khan, Christine E. Peterson, and Randall Kuhn The 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey: Questionnaires for Community/Provider Survey, DRU-2018/3-NIA, 1999.

Reville, Robert T., Robert A. Moffitt, and Anne E. Winkler, "A Telephone Survey of State AFDC Rules Regarding Cohabitation and Marriage: Description and Findings," SR #62, Institute for Research on Poverty Special Report, 1995.

Sastry, Narayan, A Multilevel Hazards Model for Hierarchically Clustered Data: Model Estimation and an Application to the Study of Child Survival in Northeast Brazil, DRU-1101, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, June 1995.

Sastry, Narayan, and Anne R. Pebley, Non-Response in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, DRU-2400/7-LAFANS, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2003.

Sastry, Narayan, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, John Adams, Anne Pebley, "The Design of a Multilevel Survey of Children, Families, and Communities: The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey." Social Science Research, Vol. 35, pp. 1000-1024, November 2005 (also available as RAND reprint RP-1241).

Sastry, Narayan, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, John Adams, and Anne R. Pebley, The Design of a Multilevel Survey of Children, Families, and Communities: The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, DRU-2400/1-1-LAFANS, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2003.

Sastry, Narayan, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, John Adams, and Anne R. Pebley, The Design of Multilevel Longitudinal Survey of Children, Families, and Communities: The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, DRU-2400/1, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2000.

Sine, Jeffrey, and Christine E. Peterson, The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey: Quality of Retrospective Data for the New Sample, MR-110-NICHD, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1994.

Sine, Jeff, Tey Nai Peng, and Julie S. DaVanzo, Proceedings of the Seminar on the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 1991, CF-109-NICHD/NIA/WFHF, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.

Smith, James P., and Duncan Thomas, "Remembrances of Things Past: Test-Retest Reliability of Retrospective Migration Histories," The Journal of Royal Statistical Society, Part 1, 2003, pp. 23-49 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-1061).

Smith, James P., and Robert Willis, eds., Measurement and Wealth: Essays in Honor of F. Thomas Juster, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, forthcoming.

Smith, James P., and Robert Willis, eds., Wealth, Work and Health: Innovations in Measurement in the Social Sciences, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999.

Smith, James P., Frank Stafford, and James R. Walker, "Introduction to the JHR's Special Issue on Cross-National Comparative Research Using Panel Surveys, "The Journal of Human Resources, 2003, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 241-279 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-1065).

Strauss, John, and Duncan Thomas, "Measurement and Mismeasurement of Social Indicators," American Economic Review, Vol. 86, No. 2, May 1996, pp. 30-34 (also available as RAND Reprint RP-534).

Thomas, Duncan, and Elizabeth Frankenberg, The Measurement and Interpretation of Health in Social Surveys, DRU-2550, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2000.

Thomas, Duncan, Elizabeth Frankenberg, and James P. Smith, "Lost but Not Forgotten: Attrition in the Indonesian Family Life Survey," Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2001, pp. 556-592. (also available as RAND Reprint RP-965).

van Soest, Arthur, and Michael D. Hurd, Models for Anchoring and Acquiescence Bias in Consumption Data, WR-146, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2004 (available in PDF) WR-146.

van Soest, Arthur, and Michael D. Hurd, A Test for Anchoring and Yea-Saying in Experimental Consumption Data, (available in PDF) WR-147, Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2003.

van Soest, Arthur, Arie Kapteyn, Tatiana Andreyeva, James P. Smith, Self Reported Disability and Reference Groups, WR-409-1.