The 1973 CPS-IRS-SSA exact match study

The 1973 CPS-IRS-SSA Exact Match Study--a joint undertaking of the Social Security Administration and the Bureau of the Census--links survey records for persons in the March 1973 Current Population Survey to their respective earnings and benefit information in SSA administrative records and to selected items from their 1972 Internal Revenue Service individual income tax returns. The resulting set of files provides a very broad base for cross-section and longitudinal analyses of income-distribution questions. This article attempts to provide an overview of the techniques employed in the study. Among the topics discussed are the confidentiality requirements in force during the project. The original study goals are also described and a list of some of the completed research is provided.