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personal income tax returns and unemployment insurance claimant histories with
survey data on family incomes and on expenditure patterns. The techniques used to
create the database and avoid confidential data disclosure include various forms of
categorical matching and stochastic imputation. While no one record on the
database contains information for the same individual from the four bases, the
database has been constructed in such a way as to provide a micro-statistically
representative sample of Canadians.
The SPSD can be used to represent the population of Canada commencing in 1988.
This is done through the use of different sets of household weights that embody
demographic data and projections by age, sex and province for years beyond 1997.
Certain adjustments have been made in SPSD to force agreement between data
and known control totals. For example, survey weights have been adjusted to
ensure that the population by age and sex corresponds to census estimates, and the
number of high income Canadians corresponds to the number reported by Revenue
Canada. Further adjustments have been made to compensate for item nonresponse in the surveys (e.g. to increase the number of families receiving social
assistance). It should be noted that the SPSD coverage does not extend to the
Yukon or Northwest Territories, persons residing on reservations, or armed forces
personnel residing in barracks.
The richness and complexity of the database permit comprehensive simulations but
require some degree of familiarity if the data are to be processed correctly and valid
conclusions drawn. The fundamental family structure of the data as well as the
organization and range of variables and their sources are briefly presented here.
For a full discussion of the variables and database consult both the Variable Guide
and the Database Creation Guide in the Reference Manual. A listing and brief
description of the six major types of database variables follows.
SPSD Variables
Demographic
Income Sources
Unemployment
Tax deductions and credits
Consumption
Household weights
Introduction and Overview Guide
SPSD/M Version 9.2
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