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On the reliability of retrospective unemployment information in European household panel data

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  • Kyyrä, Tomi
  • Wilke, Ralf A.

Abstract

The retrospectively recalled calendar of activities in the European Community Household Panel is a prime resource for cross country analysis of unemployment experience. We investigate the reliability of these data and find that 26% of unemployed respondents misreported retrospectively their unemployment status in the subsequent interview. We observe large differences across countries: While the conditional probability of a successful recall is 96% in the UK, it is just 51% in Greece for a comparable individual. These evident data problems likely affect the results of cross country comparisons.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyyrä, Tomi & Wilke, Ralf A., 2011. "On the reliability of retrospective unemployment information in European household panel data," Working Papers 21, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:fer:wpaper:21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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