The Income Survey Development Program: design features and initial findings

This article summarizes the principal design features of the Income Survey Development Program (ISDP) and presents initial findings of its 1979 Research Panel. The ISDP was designed to meet the need for improved data--particularly information on cash and in-kind income, assets and debts, tax liabilities, and participation in the major income security programs. The ISDP examined many technical and operational problems that were difficult to satisfy with existing surveys and administrative record systems. The ISDP field tests indicated that several experimental features were successful. These include use of more frequent interviews, a sample that is followed over a period of more than a year, a flexible questionnaire structure that permits insertion of questions on emerging policy issues, and procedures to maximize the linking of survey data with information in administrative records. Initial findings from the 1979 Research Panel indicate the number of persons receiving benefits from more than one major transfer program and compare the assets of food stamp recipients with those of eligible nonparticipants and ineligible persons.