Canada Needs Better Data for Evidence-Based Policy: Inconsistencies between Administrative and Survey Data on Welfare Dependence and Education

Abstract

This study compares administrative and survey data on BC welfare (social assistance) recipients, to test whether survey data is sufficiently accurate for use in policy-oriented research. BC welfare and education data is compared to the 1994 Public Use Microdata (BC sample) of Statistics Canada's Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID). BC 1994 SLID significantly understates welfare dependence, and overstates education levels of BC welfare recipients. Statistics Canada should lead a national initiative to make provincial administrative datasets available for research; and should use these data to improve key national longitudinal social research surveys such as SLID, NLSCY, and NPHS.