IPUMS Research Articles

Factors associated with loss and recovery of smell and taste after COVID-19 infection.

To identify predictors associated with loss and recovery of smell and taste after COVID-19 infection. The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) 2021 National Health Interview Series (NHIS) database was used to analyze factors associated with loss and recovery of smell and taste in respondents who had a previous COVID-19 infection. Significant variables from univariate analysis were included in a stepwise backward regression model to identify independent predictors. Of the 3844 individuals who answered yes to having contracted COVID-19, 51.1% and 48.9% reported losing smell and taste, respectively. 95.7% recovered smell and 97% recovered taste. Predictors associated with higher odds of reporting a loss of smell included younger age (odds ratio [OR] 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98-0.99), female sex (OR 1.38; CI 1.17-1.63), use of e-cigarettes (OR 1.59; CI 1.25-2.02), and Mexican ethnicity (OR 1.61; CI 1.22-2.11). Predictors of taste loss were younger age (OR 0.98; CI 0.98-0.99), female sex (OR 1.31; CI 1.08-1.58), and higher BMI (OR 1.02; CI 1.00-1.04). Female sex was associated with decreased odds of reporting a recovery of smell (OR 0.74; CI 0.59-0.92) and taste (OR 0.54; CI 0.42-0.69). Black/African American race (OR 1.44; CI 1.03-2.03) and non-Mexican Hispanic ethnicities (OR 1.55; CI 1.02-2.34) were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting the recovery of smell. Various factors may be associated with the loss and recovery of smell and taste after COVID-19 infections. Clinicians may use this information to better counsel patients with these symptoms. 4.

Developing systems to encourage FAIR and secure research data

Welcome to first issue of IASSIST Quarterly for 2024; this is Volume 48 of the journal (IQ 48(1) 2024). The three papers in this issue represent different aspects of researchers’ use of data archives. Experts from three major data archives (ICPSR, IPUMS, and GESIS) share their experiences developing systems to make research resources in their archives more findable, accessible, and usable. Lafia, Million, and Hemphill in their article “Exploratory and directed search strategies at a social science data archive” investigate search strategies of users of a large social science data archive. In an effort to understand how users search for curated research data, the authors analyze data queries issued through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) website’s search box. The study is meant to inform archives and repositories of their users’ experience and help develop systems that encourage dataset findability, accessibility and reuse. The authors identify two types of data searches, exploratory and directed searches. They find that while users that issued exploratory queries were able to navigate the ICPSR website successfully and refine their searches, they may benefit from more explicit support for query reformation. The authors suggest ways development of tools and training could improve users’ experience. In the article “Stewarding our resources: Building a sustainable IPUMS archival document access system” Daina Magnuson describes IPUMS experience building a web interface to support exploration and dissemination of archival materials associated with IPUMS International (IPUMS-I). Ancillary materials, including thousands of unique pieces of census and survey documentation were obtained by IPUMS-I during data acquisition efforts. This rich source material was curated and preserved by archival staff. Magnuson describes in details the development of a system that would make these resources findable, searchable and downloadable to internal users as well as IPUMS researchers. Strategies describe may inform other data archives considering developing similar tools. Deborah Wiltshire in her article “Developing canonical ‘Safe Researcher’ training materials for Trusted Research Environment” describes the development of training materials for researchers applying to access restricted data through Trusted Research Environment (TRE). The increased use of a virtual desktop environment, as opposed to physical safe rooms, offers researchers easier and more flexible access to restricted data; however, it offers fewer physical safeguards. Attending a mandatory ‘Safe Researcher’ training is one of the principles of the Five Safe Framework[i] developed by the UK’s Office for National Statistics to bridge this gap and assure the safe use of sensitive data. The process described in the article could be easily adapted by other TREs according to their needs and settings (e.g., in-person vs. online training). In the spirit of making information findable, accessible and reusable, we’re happy to share that the Open Journal System platform from the University of Alberta has enabled author linking to ORCID. This means that IQ authors are now able to connect their ORCID iDs to their IQ publications, so that their ORCID profiles will automatically update with those citations as their articles are published. For existing IQ account holders, log into your account at the upper right of the IQ page, and go to Profile > Public. Then click “Create or Connect your ORCID iD” (just below the Homepage URL field). For details, see this video walkthrough of profile authentication. New IQ users will automatically be prompted to link (or create) their ORCID iDs during IQ account creation. Authors are also encouraged to note their ORCID iD link with their affiliation and contact information in an endnote when submitting a manuscript for publication. We hope to see many of you at the 49th Annual IASSIST Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28-31, 2024! Ofira Schwartz and Michele Hayslett, March 2024

Stewarding our resources: Building a sustainable IPUMS archival document access system

IPUMS at the University of Minnesota has created the world’s largest accessible database of census and survey microdata. The IPUMS suite of products contains nine harmonized data products. The largest of these projects, IPUMS International (IPUMS-I) has supported the curation and preservation of ancillary materials received during data acquisition efforts. Archival staff have preserved thousands of unique pieces of census and survey documentation, creating bibliographic records using an extended Dublin Core profile that supports the use of controlled vocabularies to enhance findability for the project staff and outside users. The goal of this curation work was to create a findable, searchable, and downloadable document access system for our internal use and to support IPUMS researchers. This paper describes our experience constructing a tool that supports exploration and dissemination of these archived materials. During this development, we gained valuable insight about stewarding our resources that are applicable to research organizations responsible for curating, preserving, and disseminating archival materials.

The distinct nature of U.S. based female immigrant entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT Despite contributing to host country economies, there is limited examination of self-employed female immigrants in the literature. While human, social, and financial capital are important for entrepreneurship in general, given immigrant women’s intersectional identities, the potential exists for these factors to affect them differently. This study uses US data obtained from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) to empirically test the relationship of human, social, and financial capital on female immigrants’ self-employment and compares these relationships with US-born women and male immigrants. While the results are mixed, overall, the findings suggest that female immigrants’ odds of being self-employed, in relation to their levels of human, social, and financial capital, are influenced to a greater extent by their immigrant identity than their gender identity. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL INVESTIGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING A SINGLE PARENT AND POVERTY

Single parenting has been a growing type of family structure both in Western countries and Eastern ones. Changing economic and social conditions have contributed to this growth. Poverty or worsening welfare is also a growing concern in society. This study, therefore, investigates whether being a single parent is associated with a poverty risk. To do so, The Current Population Survey (CPS) which is a commonly used data source applied in social science from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) database were utilised. Being a reliable source with large sample sizes and various subjects covered in the U.S. population makes IPUMS widely preferable data source with micro level data on individuals and household. This empirical investigation, therefore, relies on IPUMS CPS data to explain poverty risk of single parents. Findings reveal that being a single parent is significantly associated with being below the poverty line. Additionally, sex, age, employment status, education level, race, and citizenship status were found to be significant to explain poverty.

The effects of schooling choices on the return to education

The present research looked at the return to schooling (Public and Private schools) in the census region of the East South-Central Division of the United States. The demographic diversity of this region is the primary reason for its selection. The functional form of return to schooling on education has the specified wage as the long-linear function of school attendance (in years), controlling for gender, race, work experience, occupation status, and educational attainment. We followed the extant literature to control a few socioeconomic variables. The article used 2020 sample data from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) to estimate the parameter coefficients. The findings show private schools yield a higher return in terms of subsequent wage earnings compared to private schools. The results highlight a higher differential between private schools & public schools for Caucasian Americans over African Americans. Similarly, the differential is higher among females over males

The Importance of Education on Bhutanese Refugees and their Personal Incomes

In this paper, I look to find the personal income rates of Bhutanese Refugees. I have been looking to find how variables like a refugee's educational attainment, poverty rate, and family situation affect how much money they make. Through the usage of Integrated Public Use Microdata Series(IPUMS) quantitative data, I took a sample of the specific year 2018 to visit the causation behind these variables and the result. An increase in the educational attainment of a Bhutanese Refugee will lead to an increase in their personal income and with a larger family, they will make more money. This means that the actions of the variables, whether they increase or decrease, have an effect on the personal income rates of a refugee.

Challenges of Large-Scale Data Processing in the 1990s: The IPUMS Experience.

When it was launched in 1991, the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) project faced a challenging environment and limited resources. Few datasets were interoperable and much data collected at great public expense was inaccessible to most researchers. Documentation of datasets was nonstandardized, incomplete, and inadequate for automated processing. With insufficient attention to preservation, valuable scientific data were disappearing (see Bogue et al., 1976). IPUMS was established to address these critical issues. At the outset, IPUMS faced daunting barriers of inadequate data processing, storage, and network capacity. This anecdote describes the improvised computational infrastructure developed in the decade from 1989 to 1999 to process, manage, and disseminate the world's largest population datasets. We use a combination of archival sources, interviews, and our own memories to trace the development of the IPUMS computing environment during a period of explosive technical innovation. The development of IPUMS is part of a larger story of the development of social science infrastructure in the late 20th century and its contribution to democratizing data access.

Trends in Female Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Coherence across Data Sources

Educational expansion and the closing of gender gaps in education are key objectives in national and international policy agendas. Monitoring progress towards these goals requires comparable data across countries and over time. The availability of international census and survey microdata allows for cross-national comparisons of education participation and completion. However, we lack systematic analyses of how trends vary across data sources and of the extent to which these data sources offer a consistent account of progress in education. In this paper, we examine coherence in estimates of educational attainment among women aged 25 to 29 in 75 countries across the three main repositories of international population microdata: IPUMS International, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Coherence analysis of 535 census and survey observations from 1960 to 2017 shows high levels of consistency overall but also identifies observations misaligned with trends. Results provide practical information to the research community about the validity of comparative investigations using three important data sources for demographic studies. The data also serve as benchmarks for assessing the quality of education information obtained in data sources not included in our analysis and the trend alignment of future estimates.

Is It Only a Numbers Game? A Macro-Level Study of Educational Hypogamy.

In many countries, the tendency for highly educated women to marry down in education has markedly increased. Research has pointed to an oversupply of highly educated women-that is, a marriage squeeze affecting women-as the core reason for this phenomenon. This study aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the causes of this marriage trend by analyzing over-time data drawn from IPUMS International census microdata samples for 34 countries. Several key findings are notable. First, the degree of educational hypogamy is associated with the magnitude of the deficit in college-educated men in the marriage market, which is consistent with the marriage squeeze hypothesis. Second, the degree of educational hypogamy is related to the economic empowerment of college-educated women, even after accounting for the mating squeeze effect. Third, counterfactual simulations show that while the mating squeeze is the major driver of educational hypogamy in the majority of the sample countries, the economic empowerment of college-educated women plays an equally important role in several countries.

Marriage in the Melting Pot: An Evolutionary Approach to European Ancestry, Homogamy, and Fertility in the United States.

To understand marriage patterns, homogamy, and fertility of women of European ancestry in the United States from an evolutionary perspective, we investigated if a prevalence of ancestral homogamy exists, the factors influencing a female preference for an ancestral homogamous vs. heterogamous marriage, and if ancestral homogamous vs. heterogamous marriages have an impact on fertility. Furthermore, we aim to determine the heritability of homogamous vs. heterogamous marriage behavior. We used the census data of 369,121 women in the United States married only once and aged between 46 and 60 years, provided by IPUMS USA (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/). We used linear mixed models to determine the association between the probability of a homogamous vs. heterogamous marriage and the individual fertility of women. We aimed to estimate the heritability (genetics and parental environment) of marriage behavior using a linear mixed model. We found that ancestral heterogamous marriages are more frequent compared to homogamous marriages, but only if all ancestry groups are included. If ancestry is aggregated, homogamous marriages are more frequent compared to heterogamous marriages. Most of the variance (up to 27%) in inter-ancestry marriage and fertility (up to 12%) is explained by ancestry per se, followed by the ratio of individuals of a certain ancestral background in a county (∼6%), indicating a frequency depending selection into marriage: the more individuals of a certain ancestry live in a county, the lower is the tendency to marry someone of a different ancestral background. Furthermore, we found that about 12% (depending to some extent on the clustering) of the marriage behavior is heritable. Being in a homogamous marriage and the income of the spouse are both significantly positively associated with the number of children women have and the probability that women have at least one child, albeit explaining only a very low proportion of the overall variance. The most important factor (in terms of variance explained) for being in an ancestral homogamous vs. heterogamous marriage, for the number of children, and for childlessness is the ancestry of the women. Most children are born to women of Irish, French, and Norwegian ancestry (Irish X̄: 3.24, French X̄: 3.21, and Norwegian X̄: 3.18), the lowest number of children is to women of Latvian, Rumanian, and Russian ancestry (Latvian X̄: 2.26, Rumanian X̄: 2.19, and Russian X̄: 2.35). Albeit, we are not able to distinguish the genetic and social heritability on the basis of our data, only a small heritability for in-group vs. out-group marriage behavior is indicated (∼12% of variance explained).

To migrate or not to migrate: the effect of institutional reforms on immigration decisions of Ottoman citizens to the US

ABSTRACT In the age of mass migration, the US became economically crucial with the development of Atlantic trade and attracted labour flows from the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire was suffering severe economic and political problems. The Ottoman citizens of various ethnic origins, such as Turks, Jews, Armenians and Arabs, moved to different countries, including the US, for economic and political reasons. This paper examines the effect of institutional reforms in the Ottoman Empire during the Second Constitutional Era on immigration decisions of different ethnic groups to the US. Data come from the US census data of IPUMS (the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) for 1910. The empirical results show that the institutional reforms could reduce emigration from the Ottoman Empire through granting additional civil liberties. However, this effect works heterogeneously for different ethnic groups. This result points out the importance of institutional improvements in home countries on reducing migration outflows.

Generalized zero-inated Poisson regression mixture model for fitting health-related data

In many bioscience studies, it is common to encounter count data with a large number of zeros that Poisson regression model or standard zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model do not fit well. Generalized zero-inflated Poisson (GZIP) regression mixture model can handle the data with excess zeros and overdispersion caused by unobserved heterogeneity. For the parameter estimation, expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm with iteratively reweighted least sqaures (IRLS) method is used. We applied GZIP regression mixture model into two health-related data, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data and Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) census data, and compared the performance of the models using AIC and BIC to find the best mixture model.

An introduction to DUIA: The database on urban inequality and amenities.

This article introduces DUIA, the Database on Urban Inequality and Amenities. DUIA includes data on the socio-economic development and amenities of 86 cities. The database especially covers cities outside the West, providing new opportunities for comparative research in fields suffering from a dearth of data. DUIA addresses three concerns that have not been resolved by other databases on cities. First, we draw upon remote sensing derived data from the Atlas of Urban Expansion to more accurately define city boundaries. Second, we draw upon survey data stored in IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) to include extensive, harmonized, and disaggregated data. Third, we use open source software and share our scripts to ensure transparency and replicability. DUIA includes information on dwelling and household characteristics, educational attainment, ownership of assets and appliances, and access to amenities. We provide illustrative analyses on asset inequality and water access to demonstrate the potential for the database. Although we also identify several limitations, DUIA represents a step forward in the systematic study of inequality and amenities over time and across cities.

When and Where Residential Racial Segregation Matters for the Black Self-employment Rate

Scholars debate whether residential racial segregation associates positively, negatively, or at all with the Black self-employment rate in the United States. This study engages that debate using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) 1980, 1990, and 2000 5% sample and 2006–2010 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year sample. Specifically, I investigate the county-level association between residential racial segregation and the Black self-employment rate, and whether this association varied by region in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010. Using fractional logit models and net of control variables, I find that residential racial segregation positively predicts Black self-employment in the South. Implications for understanding how time and region condition Black self-employment opportunities are discussed.

Agrarian Puerto Rico: Reconsidering Rural Economy and Society, 1899–1940

Agrarian Puerto Rico is a sound and solid investigation that launches a strongly documented and provocative denial of the premise that following the US invasion in 1898 untold Puerto Ricans lost massive amounts of farm property, becoming proletarianized as a result. Influential political figures and leading intellectuals have widely accepted these narratives of landlessness and proletarianization.The book starts with a critique of a widespread but related narrative that Puerto Rico had been a haven for a “legion of proprietors” before the invasion. This narrative seems to have been more salient during the Great Depression but less appealing in later decades. The authors point out that Pedro Albizu Campos made it a central theme of his discourse during the 1930s. The Liberal Party followed suit, with a roster of luminaries voicing this narrative, including the notable Union Republican Party essayist Francisco M. Zeno, political independence leader Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, and Popular Democratic Party founder Luis Muñoz Marín.Agrarian Puerto Rico identifies but does not expand on the magnitude of the dramatic consolidation of already large holdings after the invasion. For instance, the average farm size in Santa Isabel, the municipality with the highest concentration of land, was 130 and 133 cuerdas in 1925 and 1935, respectively (pp. 69, 78). Compare this to the 22,269 cuerdas owned and 17,000 cuerdas leased by the Aguirre Sugar Company over several municipalities in 1929 to the sugar hacienda Potala, one of the largest on the south coast and which held 1,790 cuerdas in 1880 (p. 82). In time, the Potala hacienda became just another sugarcane field owned by the Aguirre Sugar Company. The absence of examples like this means that the book fails to convey the extent of the concentration.César Ayala and Laird Bergad command an arresting array of research techniques that privilege the quantitative to document the concentration of land as well as why they reject the narrative that this resulted in landlessness. Specifically, they constructed a massive database from rural property tax assessments for ten municipalities during four periods between 1905 and 1935. They also relied heavily on publicly available population samples, known as the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), which are drawn from the 1910, 1920, and 1930 US censuses of the island. Using IPUMS samples, Ayala and Bergad also analyze the race, sex, and occupations of the rural population. Finally, they used statistics to interpret the printed census publications.The book consists of nine chapters, an introduction, and a conclusion. The introduction, conclusion, and first chapters focus on the landlessness and proletarianization narratives. Chapters 2 through 4 present overviews of coffee and sugar from their introduction on the island and tobacco agriculture from the Spanish conquest while paying special attention to the first decades of the twentieth century. These chapters identify the spatial distribution of these commodities within the island, their main export markets, and the use of credit to finance production.Chapter 5 follows the effects of economic change on the population through an analysis of the IPUMS samples. The expansion of commerce, manufacture, and government activities led to migration to the urban areas. Among the areas focused on agricultural export, population growth was slowest in the coffee regions whereas the tobacco and sugar regions experienced considerable population increases.Chapters 6 through 8 present a compelling critique of the landlessness and proletarianization narratives through various statistical techniques. Ayala and Bergad lean heavily on the rural property tax database in order to find the narratives wanting. Relying on census publications, they posit a 20 percent rise in the number of farms in Puerto Rico between 1899 and 1935, with only a marginal increase in landlessness, from 72 to 75 percent (pp. 167–68). These chapters explain away the paradox of increased land fragmentation as landed property became more concentrated by arguing that small farms suffered divisions through inheritance and partial sales, whereas big landed estates experienced consolidation into ever larger units.Chapter 9 takes issue with Puerto Rican historiography for its focus on the major export staples of sugar, coffee, and tobacco at the expense of other agricultural pursuits. The chapter offers a welcome balance to this skewed focus by considering food crops intended for the local market and for the subsistence of the farmer's family. This labor-intensive small-time farming activity occupied more land than any of the major export staples. This last chapter also considers idle land and land dedicated to pasture.The merits and contribution of this volume overshadow the limited discussion of the consolidation of the largest estates. The breadth and scope of Ayala and Bergad's scholarship are formidable. Agrarian Puerto Rico provides a provocative reappraisal of the impact of the US invasion in 1898 on local agriculture. It will become an obligatory reference for scholars addressing the island's farming sector.

Population and Housing (Mis)match in Lisbon, 1981–2018. A Challenge for an Aging Society

Over the past four decades, Lisbon’s population has witnessed some notable changes in its growth, age structure, conjugal patterns and ethnic diversity. These changes have affected the size, composition and structure of households, which in turn modified the demand for housing in Lisbon. At the same time, some changes were also made to the housing stock, especially in size, but also in the replacement of small apartment buildings with large residential apartment blocks. However, the discrepancies between demographic changes and the housing stock have created new challenges for the housing market in Lisbon to provide adequate housing to all households in the city. Using data from the 1981–2011 census obtained from IPUMS International, population estimates from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and other secondary sources, this article identifies and measures the magnitude of (mis)matches between existing housing stock and housing needs of the population in Lisbon. Theoretically, this article adds to the knowledge about the relationship between population and housing dynamics in large cities. Empirically, it provides evidence on the existence and magnitude of (mis)matches in Lisbon’s housing market and explores the underlying dynamics behind them. Lastly, it offers some policy tools and recommendations to address these (mis)matches.

Across the Rural-Urban Universe: Two Continuous Indices of Urbanization for U.S. Census Microdata.

Microdata from U.S. decennial censuses and the American Community Survey are a key resource for social science and policy analysis, enabling researchers to investigate relationships among all reported characteristics for individual respondents and their households. To protect privacy, the Census Bureau restricts the detail of geographic information in public use microdata, and this complicates how researchers can investigate and account for variations across levels of urbanization when analyzing microdata. One option is to focus on metropolitan status, which can be determined exactly for most microdata records and approximated for others, but a binary metro/nonmetro classification is still coarse and limited on its own, emphasizing one aspect of rural-urban variation and discounting others. To address these issues, we compute two continuous indices for public use microdata-average tract density and average metro/micro-area population-using population-weighted geometric means. We show how these indices correspond to two key dimensions of urbanization-concentration and size-and we demonstrate their utility through an examination of disparities in poverty throughout the rural-urban universe. Poverty rates vary across settlement types in nonlinear ways: rates are lowest in moderately dense parts of major metro areas, and rates are higher in both low- and high-density areas, as well as in smaller commuting systems. Using the two indices also reveals that correlations between poverty and demographic characteristics vary considerably across settlement types. Both indices are now available for recent census microdata via IPUMS USA (https://usa.ipums.org).

Who Counts? Measuring Disability Cross-Nationally in Census Data

AbstractDespite established recommended standard definitions, measures, and methods by the UN Washington Group on Disability Statistics and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to assess dimensions of disability, national censuses vary widely in the questions used to identify people with disabilities. Although many seek to conform ex-ante to ICF definitions, they also deviate from this basic framework in different ways. This complicates ex-post harmonization and standardization for cross-national comparisons of disability prevalence and outcomes influenced by disability status, such as labor market participation. Addressing these issues, this study uses IPUMS International Census microdata since 2,000 to examine disability measurement across 65 countries. We find that definitions, terminology, measurement, and instructions to both respondents and enumerators matter for understanding disability prevalence cross-nationally. For instance, questions that included potentially stigmatizing language were associated with lower rates of disability reporting, but questions that listed specific limitations were associated with higher rates. Beyond disability, our findings also speak more broadly to ongoing challenges in survey harmonization for cross-national comparison.

Who Counts? Measuring Disability Cross-Nationally in Census Data

Despite established recommended standard definitions, measures, and methods by the UN Washington Group on Disability Statistics and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to assess dimensions of disability, national censuses vary widely in the questions used to identify people with disabilities. Although many seek to conform ex-ante to ICF definitions, they also deviate from this basic framework in different ways. This complicates ex-post harmonization and standardization for cross-national comparisons of disability prevalence and outcomes influenced by disability status, such as labor market participation. Addressing these issues, this study uses IPUMS International Census microdata since 2,000 to examine disability measurement across 65 countries. We find that definitions, terminology, measurement, and instructions to both respondents and enumerators matter for understanding disability prevalence cross-nationally. For instance, questions that included potentially stigmatizing language were associated with lower rates of disability reporting, but questions that listed specific limitations were associated with higher rates. Beyond disability, our findings also speak more broadly to ongoing challenges in survey harmonization for cross-national comparison.