Obtaining MFLS-1 and MFLS-2 Data and Documentation
The MFLS-1 and MFLS-2 primary data are available in a sub-file format in which subsections of the survey questionnaire are stored in separate data files. The original MFLS-1 data was in a hierarchical format (i.e., a single file containing numerous record types) and was restructured to mirror the MFLS-2 file structure.
An additional MFLS-1-based data file is also available. The MFLS-1 Individual-Level Dataset, created from the original MFLS-1 data, contains one record for each individual who ever appeared in the household roster of the MFLS-1 survey. Demographic, time allocation, and income and wealth information is available at both the individual and household level. The Individual-Level file is discussed in the second FLS Newsletter.
The MFLS-1 and >MFLS-2 data files and documentation are available online.
The MFLS survey data and documentation are also available from the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA) public holdings of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), based at the University of Michigan. You may download the surveys directly from the NACDA public website. Those who need data on other media must contact ICSPR directly.
Updates to the MFLS-1 and MFLS-2 data may also be found at this website. Please review these updates when you access the data.
Please note: MFLS-1 and MFLS-2 are no longer actively supported. Please review the documentation and the data along with your programming code to resolve questions and problems. Questions sent to mfls-supp@rand.org may not be responded to in a timely fashion.