Abstract
Linkage of household survey responses with administrative data is increasingly on the agenda. Unique individual identifiers have clear benefits for making linkages but are also subject to problems of survey item non-response and measurement error. Our experimental study that linked survey responses to UK government agency records on benefits and tax credits elucidates this trade-off. We compare five linkage criteria: one based on a respon-dent-supplied National Insurance Number (NINO) and the other four using different combinations of sex, name, address and date of birth. As many linkages were made using non-NINO-based matches as were made using matches on NINO and the former were also relatively accurate when assessed in terms of false-positive and false-negative linkage rates. The potential returns from hierarchical and pooled matching are also examined.
Highlights
Linkage between household survey responses and administrative records is rare in Britain (Plewis, Smith, Wright, & Cullis, 2001), it is increasingly on the agenda
There are, potential problems as well: a significant minority of respondents may not have telephones, or change numbers relatively often, and they may be subject to measurement error in the same way that NINOs are
The returns to these investments will be greatest if the investments are coordinated between the major household surveys in order to take advantage of generic similarities in information collected that could be used for matching
Summary
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713737293.
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