IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iab/iabdpa/201906.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Benefit underreporting in survey data and its consequences for measuring non-take-up: new evidence from linked administrative and survey data

Author

Listed:
  • Bruckmeier, Kerstin

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

  • Riphahn, Regina T.
  • Wiemers, Jürgen

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

Abstract

"The international literature studies non-take-up behavior of eligible populations to evaluate the effectiveness of government programs. A major challenge in this literature is the measurement error regarding benefit take-up. Measurement error is typically addressed by structural assumptions in the modeling framework. In our data, we observe both actual welfare receipt and respondents' survey information on their take-up. This allows us to observe the measurement errors that other researchers must estimate. We describe survey misreporting and investigate how it biases the estimates of the magnitude and patterns of benefit take-up among eligible households. Our findings suggest that the extent of measurement error can be substantial. It varies with the characteristics of the misreporting population and is associated with the drivers of underreporting. This indicates that survey-based analyses of take-up behavior are likely subject to severe biases." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Riphahn, Regina T. & Wiemers, Jürgen, 2019. "Benefit underreporting in survey data and its consequences for measuring non-take-up: new evidence from linked administrative and survey data," IAB-Discussion Paper 201906, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201906
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doku.iab.de/discussionpapers/2019/dp0619.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hernandez, Monica & Pudney, Stephen, 2007. "Measurement error in models of welfare participation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 327-341, February.
    2. Bruce Meyer & Robert Goerge, 2011. "Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation," Working Papers 11-14, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    3. Bruce D. Meyer & Wallace K. C. Mok & James X. Sullivan, 2015. "Household Surveys in Crisis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 199-226, Fall.
    4. Bruce D. Meyer & Nikolas Mittag, 2015. "Using Linked Survey and Administrative Data to Better Measure Income: Implications for Poverty, Program Effectiveness and Holes in the Safety Net," Upjohn Working Papers 15-242, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    5. Olivier Bargain & Herwig Immervoll & Heikki Viitamäki, 2012. "No claim, no pain. Measuring the non-take-up of social assistance using register data," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(3), pages 375-395, September.
    6. Mittag, Nikolas, 2016. "Correcting for Misreporting of Government Benefits," IZA Discussion Papers 10266, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Bound, John & Brown, Charles & Mathiowetz, Nancy, 2001. "Measurement error in survey data," Handbook of Econometrics, in: J.J. Heckman & E.E. Leamer (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 59, pages 3705-3843, Elsevier.
    8. Meyer, Bruce D. & Goerge, Robert M., 2011. "Errors in Survey Reporting and Imputation and Their Effects on Estimates of Food Stamp Program Participation," Contractor and Cooperator Reports 312394, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Regina T. Riphahn & Salwan Saif, 2019. "Naturalization and labor market performance of immigrants in Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(1), pages 48-76, March.
    10. Moffitt, Robert, 1983. "An Economic Model of Welfare Stigma," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(5), pages 1023-1035, December.
    11. Stephen Pudney & Monica Hernandez & Ruth Hancock, 2007. "The welfare cost of means-testing: pensioner participation in income support," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 581-598.
    12. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Gerrit M�ller & Regina T. Riphahn, 2014. "Who misreports welfare receipt in surveys?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(12), pages 812-816, August.
    13. Bethmann, Arne & Fuchs, Benjamin & Huber, Martina & Trappmann, Mark & Reindl, Alice & Berg, Marco & Cramer, Ralph & Dickmann, Christian & Gilberg, Reiner & Jesske, Birgit & Kleudgen, Martin, 2016. "Codebook and documentation of the panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS) : Datenreport wave 9," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201607_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    14. Berg, Marco & Cramer, Ralph & Dickmann, Christian & Gilberg, Reiner & Jesske, Birgit & Kleudgen, Martin & Bethmann, Arne & Fuchs, Benjamin & Huber, Martina & Trappmann, Mark, 2016. "Codebook and documentation of the panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS) : Datenreport wave 7," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201402_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    15. Trappmann, Mark & Beste, Jonas & Bethmann, Arne & Müller, Gerrit, 2013. "The PASS panel survey after six waves," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 46(4), pages 275-281.
    16. Rebecca M. Blank & Patricia Ruggles, 1996. "When Do Women Use Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Food Stamps? The Dynamics of Eligibility Versus Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(1), pages 57-89.
    17. Peter Lynn & Annette Jäckle & Stephen P. Jenkins & Emanuela Sala, 2012. "The impact of questioning method on measurement error in panel survey measures of benefit receipt: evidence from a validation study," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 175(1), pages 289-308, January.
    18. Bollinger, Christopher R & David, Martin H, 2001. "Estimation with Response Error and Nonresponse: Food-Stamp Participation in the SIPP," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 19(2), pages 129-141, April.
    19. repec:iab:iabfda:201607(en is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Bethmann, Arne (Hrsg.) & Fuchs, Benjamin (Hrsg.) & Wurdack, Anja (Hrsg.) & Beste, Jonas (Mitarb.) & Trappmann, Mark (Mitarb.) & Müller, Gerrit (Mitarb.) & Eggs, Johannes (Mitarb.) & Gundert, Stefanie , 2013. "User guide "Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security" (PASS) : wave 6," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201307_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    21. Bruce Meyer & Nikolas Mittag, 2013. "Misclassification In Binary Choice Models," Working Papers 13-27, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    22. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Jürgen Wiemers, 2017. "Differences in welfare take-up between immigrants and natives – a microsimulation study," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(2), pages 226-241, May.
    23. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Jürgen Wiemers, 2012. "A new targeting: a new take-up?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 565-580, October.
    24. Jean‐Yves Duclos, 1997. "Estimating and Testing a Model of Welfare Participation: the Case of Supplementary Benefits in Britain," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 64(253), pages 81-100, February.
    25. Ruth Hancock & Geraldine Barker, 2005. "The quality of social security benefit data in the British Family Resources Survey: implications for investigating income support take‐up by pensioners," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 168(1), pages 63-82, January.
    26. repec:iab:iabfda:201206(en is not listed on IDEAS
    27. David Card & Andrew K. G. Hildreth & Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, 2001. "The Measurement of Medicaid Coverage in the SIPP: Evidence from California, 1990-1996," NBER Working Papers 8514, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Berg, Marco & Cramer, Ralph & Dickmann, Christian & Gilberg, Reiner & Jesske, Birgit & Kleudgen, Martin & Bethmann, Arne & Fuchs, Benjamin & Huber, Martina & Trappmann, Mark, 2016. "Codebook and documentation of the panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS) : Datenreport wave 8," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201506_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    29. Joachim R. Frick & Olaf Groh-Samberg, 2007. "To Claim or Not to Claim: Estimating Non-take-up of Social Assistance in Germany and the Role of Measurement Error," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 734, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    30. repec:iab:iabfda:201402(en is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Berg, Marco & Cramer, Ralph & Dickmann, Christian & Gilberg, Reiner & Jesske, Birgit & Kleudgen, Martin & Bethmann, Arne & Fuchs, Benjamin & Trappmann, Mark & Wurdack, Anja, 2014. "Codebook and documentation of the panel study 'Labour Market and Social Security' (PASS) : Datenreport wave 5," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201206_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    32. Mark Trappmann & Jonas Beste & Arne Bethmann & Gerrit Müller, 2013. "The PASS panel survey after six waves [Die PASS-Panelbefragung nach sechs Wellen]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(4), pages 275-281, December.
    33. Stephen Whelan, 2010. "The take-up of means-tested income support," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 847-875, December.
    34. Jonas Beste & Markus M. Grabka & Jan Goebel, 2018. "Armut in Deutschland [Poverty in Germany]," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 12(1), pages 27-62, April.
    35. Duclos, Jean-Yves, 1995. "Modelling the take-up of state support," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 391-415, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Céline Marc & Mickaël Portela & Cyrine Hannafi & Rémi Le Gall & Antoine Rode & Stéphanie Laguérodie, 2022. "Quantifier le non-recours aux minima sociaux en Europe : un phénomène d’ampleur qui peine à susciter le débat," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03618424, HAL.
    2. Céline Marc & Mickaël Portela & Cyrine Hannafi & Rémi Le Gall & Antoine Rode & Stéphanie Laguérodie, 2022. "Non-take-up of minimum social benefits: quantification in Europe," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-04082347, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Regina T. Riphahn & Jürgen Wiemers, 2021. "Misreporting of program take-up in survey data and its consequences for measuring non-take-up: new evidence from linked administrative and survey data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1567-1616, September.
    2. Hernandez, Monica & Pudney, Stephen, 2007. "Measurement error in models of welfare participation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 327-341, February.
    3. Sylvain Chareyron, 2016. "Le non-recours aux aides sociales sous conditions de ressources," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph16-01 edited by Yannick L'Horty & François Legendre.
    4. Antoni Manfred & Bethmann Arne, 2019. "PASS-ADIAB – Linked Survey and Administrative Data for Research on Unemployment and Poverty," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 239(4), pages 747-756, August.
    5. Herber, Stefanie P. & Kalinowski, Michael, 2016. "Non-take-up of Student Financial Aid: A Microsimulation for Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145727, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Herber, Stefanie P. & Kalinowski, Michael, 2016. "Non-take-up of student financial aid: A microsimulation for Germany," BERG Working Paper Series 109, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
    7. Zantomio, Francesca, 2008. "The route to take-up: raising incentives or lowering barriers?," ISER Working Paper Series 2008-35, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    8. Sylvain Chareyron, 2015. "Take-up of social assistance benefits: The case of homeless Take-up of Social Assistance Benefits: The Case of Homeless," Working Papers hal-01292107, HAL.
    9. Stefanie P. Herber & Michael Kalinowski, 2016. "Non-Take-Up of Student Financial Aid: A Microsimulation for Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 844, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Richiardi, Matteo & Vella, Melchior, 2024. "Mind vs matter: economic and psychologic determinants of take-up rates of social benefits in the UK," Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis Working Paper Series CEMPA6/24, Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Kerstin Bruckmeier & Katrin Hohmeyer & Stefan Schwarz, 2018. "Welfare receipt misreporting in survey data and its consequences for state dependence estimates: new insights from linked administrative and survey data," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 52(1), pages 1-21, December.
    12. Hetschko, Clemens & Schöb, Ronnie & Wolf, Tobias, 2020. "Income support, employment transitions and well-being," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    13. Sylvain Chareyron & Patrick Domingues, 2018. "Take‐Up of Social Assistance Benefits: The Case of the French Homeless," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(1), pages 170-191, March.
    14. Vitor Possebom, 2021. "Crime and Mismeasured Punishment: Marginal Treatment Effect with Misclassification," Papers 2106.00536, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    15. Tasseva, Iva Valentinova, 2016. "Evaluating the performance of means-tested benefits in Bulgaria," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 919-935.
    16. Jäckle, Annette & Johannes, Eggs, 2014. "Dependent interviewing and sub-optimal responding," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-32, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Terracol, Antoine, 2009. "Guaranteed minimum income and unemployment duration in France," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 171-182, April.
    18. Pudney, Stephen & Hancock, Ruth & Zantomio, Francesca, 2006. "Estimating the impact of a policy reform on welfare participation: the 2001 extension to the minimum income guarantee for UK pensioners," ISER Working Paper Series 2006-21, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    19. Edwin Fourrier-Nicolai, 2020. "How Family Transfers Crowd-out Social Assistance in Germany," AMSE Working Papers 2023, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    20. Michelle Harnisch, 2019. "Non-Take-Up of Means-Tested Social Benefits in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1793, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Befragung ; Messfehler ; IAB-Leistungsempfängerhistorik ; Inanspruchnahme ; Datenfusion ; Leistungsbezug ; Antwortverhalten ; Sozialleistungen ; Arbeitslosengeld II ; IAB-Haushaltspanel ; 2008-2013;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201906. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: IAB, Geschäftsbereich Wissenschaftliche Fachinformation und Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iabbbde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.