PSLmodels
Marital status handling for matching
When conducting matching between the PUF and the CPS, how do you handle the issue of comparing marital status across the two datasets. Specifically, the PUF has married filing jointly and married filing separately, whereas the CPS does not distinguish between these two statuses.
When trying to match someone in the PUF with someone married filing separately, is it more appropriate to compare that filer to a single person or to a married couple?
@codykallen , we aren't able to distinguish between married filing separately and married filing jointly in the CPS. In the match, married people in the CPS are matched to married people in the PUF whether they're filing jointly or separate. The final tax unit takes the status (joint or separate filer) of the PUF unit.
