U.S. Participation in the Development of a Transnational Database: The Luxembourg Income Study, 2010-2014

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SES-0960763Janet GornickCUNY Graduate SchoolFounded in 1983, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) is a unique, cross-national data archive and research center which fosters primary research by providing access to household microdata. LIS operates as a consortium of countries, governed by an international board, and serving an international community of researchers. LIS has four, longstanding goals: 1) harmonize microdatasets, from multiple countries, which include data on income, wealth, employment and demography; 2) provide a secure method that allows access to data with privacy restrictions; 3) create a remote-access system to enable research conducted from off-site locations; and 4) promote the use of microdata in comparative research on social and economic wellbeing on a global level, conduct research onsite, and sponsor and host scholars using the LIS data. A new goal: include datasets from geographically and economically diverse countries in order to broaden the basis for intellectual inquiry using household microdata. LIS houses two databases: the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database and the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS) Database. LIS personnel acquire, harmonize and document diverse datasets from countries around the globe. The LIS datasets include income, employment, and demographic variables at the person- and household-level. The LIS database now includes microdata from 36 countries and contains nearly 200 datasets spanning the years 1968 to 2006. The newer LWS database (launched December 2007) contains 15 wealth datasets from 10 countries and covers the period 1994 to 2004. New datasets for LIS and LWS are added regularly. LIS prepares two sets of standardized national indicators: one on household inequality and poverty and one on women?s economic outcomes; both are publicly available on the LIS website, www.lisproject.org. In addition, a new online table-maker (the WebTab) makes the LIS data available to a large, less technically oriented population of users. Extensive documentation is available on the underlying surveys, the harmonization process, and the country-specific institutions that shape income and wealth levels and distributions. LIS provides online instructional materials, extensive user support, and annual training workshops. LIS is a venue for researchers to exchange ideas, results, and methods; these exchanges take place through the Working Paper series, the Visiting Scholar program, and the many conferences that are regularly sponsored by LIS. To promote excellence in scholarship, LIS hosts two research awards. LIS maintains the only data archive in existence that includes income, wealth and labor market microdata, spanning decades and from diverse geographic regions. The LIS datasets foster research on economic and social policies and their effects on outcomes including poverty, income inequality, employment status, wage patterns, gender inequality, and family structure. The LWS datasets enable research on wealth portfolios, asset levels, and the interplay between household income and wealth. LIS? data users cross-cut several disciplines (e.g., economics, sociology, political science, policy studies) and employ a wide range of statistical approaches and methods. LIS anticipates increased interest in and broader applications of LIS as its geographic and economic expansion unfolds. Broader impactSince LIS' inception, thousands of researchers have accessed the microdata; produced Working Papers, government reports, journal articles and books; attended workshops; participated as Visiting Scholars; contributed to research conferences; and provided invaluable intellectual guidance regarding LIS? activities and products. There are hundreds of active registered LIS users worldwide; Americans make up about one-third of users and generate approximately one-third of statistical queries to the archive. LIS has embarked on a substantial expansion that will influence potential research initiatives and affect almost every aspect of the organization: LIS plans to acquire and harmonize, into LIS, datasets from 15-20 new middle-income countries over the next 3-5 years, double the number of countries participating in LWS, expand its research capacity, further its collaborations, and broaden its public profile internationally.