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The measurement of labor supply using March CPS: A cautionary tale

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  • Nekoei, Arash

Abstract

I document evidence of a systematic bias in the widely-used estimate of annual hours worked using the Current Population Survey. The bias stems from multiplying the number of weeks worked by the median – instead of the mean – of weekly working hours. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that this bias leads to an overestimation of annual hours.

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  • Nekoei, Arash, 2022. "The measurement of labor supply using March CPS: A cautionary tale," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:216:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522001331
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110512
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lambert, Susan & Fugiel, Peter J., 2023. "Updating Measures of Work Schedules in Federal Surveys," SocArXiv j3dk5, Center for Open Science.

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