Consumer Expenditure Survey (USA)
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Data description
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Time period
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Support links
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How to access data
Data description
The Consumer Expenditure Survey provides data on U.S. household spending on goods and services. The Survey is issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor .
The Survey consists of two parts, each with a different data collection technique and sample.
The Interview Survey, is conducted by interviewing each consumer unit (CU) every three months over five calendar quarters. The sample for each quarter is divided into three panels, with consumer units being interviewed every three months. The Interview Survey is designed to capture detailed data on an estimated 60% to 70% of total family expenditures. In addition, global estimates accounting for an additional 20% to 25% of total expenditures are obtained for food and other selected items. In general, expenses reported in the Interview Survey are either relatively large, such as property, automobiles, or major appliances – or are expenses occuring on a regular basis – such as rent, utility bills and insurance premiums.
The Diary Survey is completed by the respondent family for two consecutive one-week periods. In the Diary Survey, detailed data are collected on small, frequently-purchased items which may be difficult to recall. These items include detailed expenditures for food and beverages, housekeeping supplies and services, non-prescription drugs and personal care products and services.
Supporting documentation for the Consumer Expenditure Survey is available at 005.369-CEx in the Manuals Collection at the Badia Library. This includes the Multiple Imputation Manual ; the Consumer Expenditure Diary Survey; and Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey documentation.
Time Period
Waves available: 1984-2009
Data updated on server: October 2010
Special Note: In 2010, the BLS identified errors in waves 2001-2007. The Library has replaced the original waves with corrected data from the BLS. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a note on problems in the CE 2005Q3 Interview 'MTAB' file on this page .
Waves 1999-2009 are on the K:\ drive (see below for access procedures).
Waves 1984-1998 are available via the ICPSR data archive (see below).
Support links
Details of Consumer Expenditure Survey data collection and collation are on this Bureau of Labour Statistics page .
A reprint of Ch. 16, 'Consumer expenditures and incomes' from the Handbook of Methods (BLS) is available online .
The Bureau of Labor statistics has provided the Library with three Excel-format 'parsing files' for 1996-1998 (for researchers using CEx data from ICPSR). After registration, contact econlibrary@eui.eu to request the files.
How to access data
(i) Consumer Expenditure Survey waves 1999-2009 on K:\ drive (see further below for waves 1984-1998)
Access is restricted to current EUI members who have completed the registration procedure, as follows:
Complete the online EUI Data Registration Form (selecting 'Consumer Expenditure Survey' from the dropdown menu)
Sign the EUI 'Conditions of Use' agreement and the 'Confidentiality Declaration' at the Badia Library (Economics Office, 085) or the Economics Department information desk.
Registered current EUI members can access the data from the K:\ drive .
Consumer Expenditure Survey data is mainly composed of ASCII files that can be used with Stata. Consult this Tutorial on Loading and Using Data on Windows .
Stata 12 manuals are located at 005.369 in the VSP Reference Library and the Badia Library.
The Stata Bulletin is at SER 51 on the garden floor of the Badia Library.
(ii) Consumer Expenditure Survey waves 1984-1998 via ICPSR data archive
Locate the required data Study Number(s) in the ICPSR data catalogue .
Send the Study Number(s) by email to econlibrary@eui.eu , indicating the format in which the data should be delivered (Stata &c.)
Medium-sized sets are sent via email attachment. Larger sets are placed on an FTP server and the link sent by email.
Users should consult the file decompression instructions on the ICPSR site .
Users should carefully read the University of Michigan's ICPSR Responsible Use statement .
The Bureau of Labor statistics has provided the Library with four Excel-format parsing files: The parsing files are for 1996-1998 (for those using CEx data from ICPSR); and for 2005 (for those using CEx data from the EUI K:\ drive). Contact econlibrary@eui.eu to request the parsing files.
More Statistics and Economics Resources
Contact: Thomas Bourke at econlibrary@eui.eu