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A new strategy for linking U.S. historical censuses: A case study for the IPUMS multigenerational longitudinal panel

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  • Jonas Helgertz
  • Joseph Price
  • Jacob Wellington
  • Kelly J Thompson
  • Steven Ruggles
  • Catherine A. Fitch

Abstract

This paper presents a probabilistic method of record linkage, developed using the U.S. full count censuses of 1900 and 1910 but applicable to many sources of digitized historical records. The method links records using a two-step approach, first establishing high confidence matches among men by exploiting a comprehensive set of individual and contextual characteristics. The method then proceeds to link both men and women by leveraging links between households established in the first step. While only the first stage links can be directly comparable to other popular methods in research on the U.S., our method yields both considerably higher linkage rates and greater accuracy while only performing negligibly worse than other algorithms in resembling the target population.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Helgertz & Joseph Price & Jacob Wellington & Kelly J Thompson & Steven Ruggles & Catherine A. Fitch, 2022. "A new strategy for linking U.S. historical censuses: A case study for the IPUMS multigenerational longitudinal panel," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 12-29, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:vhimxx:v:55:y:2022:i:1:p:12-29
    DOI: 10.1080/01615440.2021.1985027
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    Cited by:

    1. Santavirta, Torsten & Stuhler, Jan, 2024. "Name-Based Estimators of Intergenerational Mobility," CEPR Discussion Papers 18740, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Antonie, Luiza & Inwood, Kris & Minns, Chris & Summerfield, Fraser, 2022. "Intergenerational Mobility in a Mid-Atlantic Economy: Canada, 1871–1901," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(4), pages 1003-1029, December.
    3. Dora Costa & CoraLee Lewis & Noelle Yetter, 2022. "Children and Grandchildren of Union Army Veterans: New Data Collections to Study the Persistence of Longevity and Socioeconomic Status Across Generations," NBER Working Papers 30747, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Postel, Hannah M., 2023. "Record linkage for character-based surnames: Evidence from chinese exclusion," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Postel, Hannah M., 2022. "Record Linkage for Character-Based Surnames: Evidence from Chinese Exclusion," SocArXiv rckjp, Center for Open Science.

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