Oliver Lipps and Ursina Kuhn
Introduction to Panel Data Analysis

Oliver Lipps is head of the methodological research programme at FORS and lecturer in survey methodology and survey research at the University of Basel.

Ursina Kuhn is a member of the Swiss Household Panel team. She is involved in data management and has published on political behaviour and income using panel data.

Workshop contents and objectives

This course introduces the structure, data management, and analysis of panel data in general and the SHP in particular. Participants will learn to understand the structure of (household) panel data, to prepare the data for panel analyses, and to apply descriptive statistics and analytical models. After a detailed presentation of the SHP, we will learn how to organise data for different types of research questions which are specific to that type of data. This includes for example creating longitudinal data files, partner or parent-children data files, and spells and transitions. Analysis techniques include cross-tabulations (to analyse transitions), regressions (pooled, fixed effects, random effect). In the afternoon sessions, participants will work on practical exercises either with the SHP data or with panel data of their own choice. There will be time to solve individual problems.

Bibliography

Introductory texts

• Longitudinal Data / SHP data
• Ruspini E. (1999) Longitudinal Research and the Analysis of Social Change. Special Issue of Quality & Quantity 33: 219-227. [Springerlink, access requires subscription]
• Voorpostel et al. (2011) Swiss Household Panel User Guide (1999-2010). FORS, Lausanne. [Swiss Household Panel] Specifically chapters 2.1 (p.11), 2.4.1 (p.14-16), 4.1.1 (p.23-25)
• Application example that uses SHP data
• Lipps, O. and F. Moreau-Gruet (2010) Change of individual BMI in Switzerland and the USA: a multi-level model for growth." Forthcoming 2010 in International Journal of Public Health, Published online December 2: [SpringerlinkDoes unemployment hurt less if there is more of it around]
• o Oesch, D. and O. Lipps (2013) ? A panel analysis of life satisfaction in Germany and Switzerland. European Sociological Review 29 (5): 955-967
• Fitzgerald, Jennifer, and K. Amber Curtis (2011). "Partisan discord in the family and political engagement: A comparative behavioral analysis". The Journal of Politics 74 (3): 783-796.

Basic texts

(Kind of material covered during class)

• Kohler, U. and Kreuter, F. (2009) Data Analysis Using Stata, 2nd ed. College Station, Texas: Stata Press.
• Rabe-Heketh, Sophia and Anders Skrondal (2007). Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata. Second edition. College Station, Texas: Stata Press.
• Singer J. and J. Willett (2003) Applied longitudinal Analysis - Modeling Change and Event Occurrence. Oxford University Press.
• Online resources: Stata Starter Kit, UCLA Academic Technology Services, USA
• Wooldridge, J. (2010). Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, 2nd Edition. MIT Press.
• Angrist, J. and J. Pischke 2009 Mostly harmless Econometrics. Princeton University Press.

Prerequisites

Experience in statistical analysis of cross-sectional (survey) data is required. This includes experience with statistical software (such as R, SPSS, Stata, SAS) and a basic knowledge of cross tabulations and regressions. In the course, Stata will be used. Experience with Stata is useful but not required.