Friday, October 24, 2008

Inquiry on EA Variables from the 1996 Census Analyser

Question

We have a researcher who is experiencing difficulty with an EA variable taken from the 1996 Census Analyser. Can anyone verify what exactly is being measured in the variable for ‘gross rent spending 30% or more of household income’ for EAs in the 1996 Census. 1991, 2001 and 2006 data is not causing any problems, but I am unsure how to proceed in answering our researcher’s question regarding the 1996 entry.



Note: she is using the V1609 and V1607 variables for her calculations.

Answer

It is the count of tenant-occupied household which spend 30% or more of household income on rent. I went back to the B20/20 file, to see if there was a more informative footnote for that field, and the footnote in the
B20/20 file is just as misleading as the item label.

"Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income" refers to the proportion of average monthly 1995 total household income which is spent on gross rent (for tenant-occupied dwellings). Calculation - Gross Rent X 100 Total annual household income in 1995 12.

This implies that the item contains a proportion - it doesn't, it contains a count.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.