Survey of Consumer Finances: 1994 Income/1995 HIFE and 1995 Income/1996 HIFE

Question

In both of these files, I’ve come across a problem in variable YRHHMOVE (year household head moved into dwelling). The codebook for each of these years indicates that valid values range up to 94; the frequencies which I ran picked up cases with value 95 in the 1995 HIFE, and values 95 and 96 for the 1996 HIFE.

I presume that the documentation for this variable wasn’t modified from an earlier release, and that the valid range has increased. If not, what do codes 95 and 96 signify?

Answer

I finally received confirmation from the author division regarding variable YRHHMOVE. Your presumption is correct. The documentation hasn't been updated to reflect that the valid ranges have increased. Therefore, the 95 and 96 codes are valid and signify the year the household head moved into the dwelling.