The Impact of Alternative Imputation Methods on the Measurement of Income and Wealth: Evidence from the Spanish Survey of Household Finances

63 Pages Posted: 4 Jan 2009

Date Written: December 26, 2008

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to emphasise the importance of the way of handling missing data and its impact on the outcome of empirical studies. Using the 2002 wave of the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (EFF), I study the performance of alternative methods: listwise deletion, non-stochastic, multiple and single imputation based on linear-regression models, and hot-deck procedures.

Using descriptive statistics of the marginal and conditional distributions of income and wealth and estimating mean and quantile regressions, listwise deletion brings imprecise and biased estimates, non-stochastic imputation underestimates variance and dispersion and hot deck fails to capture the potential relationships among survey variables.

Keywords: Household wealth surveys, imputation methods

JEL Classification: JEL codes: D10, C81

Suggested Citation

Barcelo, Cristina, The Impact of Alternative Imputation Methods on the Measurement of Income and Wealth: Evidence from the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (December 26, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1321827 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1321827

Cristina Barcelo (Contact Author)

Banco de España ( email )

Servicio de Estudios
Alcala, 48
Madrid, Madrid 28014
Spain
+34 91338 5887 (Phone)
+34 91 338 5678 (Fax)

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