Survey of Income and Program Participation

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The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a statistical survey conducted by the Demographic Statistical Methods Division of the United States Census Bureau. The main objective of the SIPP is to provide accurate and comprehensive information about the income of American individuals and households and the participation of these people in income transfer programs.

SIPP data allow the government to evaluate the effectiveness of Federal, state, and local programs.

The SIPP is designed as a continuous series of panels, with a sample size from approximately 14,000 to 37,000 households. Each panel lasts from 2 ½ to 4 years. The SIPP sample is a multistage-stratified sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The respondents are all household members 15 years or older.

Each panel is asked questions about whether or not they participate in the labor force, what programs in which they participate, and questions about their income. Each wave of interviews lasts 4 months. Interviews are conduced by personal visits and telephone calls.

In addition to the core questions, a number of “topical modules” are added to the SIPP panel, which include questions on personal history, child care, wealth, program eligibility, child support, disability, school enrollment, taxes, and annual income.

The Census Bureau sponsors the survey under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.

The SIPP was developed from the Income Survey Development Program, conducted between 1977 and 1981, which developed survey data collection strategies and instruments as well as data processing strategies for the SIPP.

The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), from Statistics Canada, performs a similar function to the SIPP. It is a longitudinal study following each of a panel of 15,000 households for 6 years.