Australian Gross Flows Data: The Labour Force Survey and the Size of the Population Represented by the Matched Sample.

In this paper we look at the way in which the ABS derives gross flows data from successive Labour Force Surveys. The procedure used by the ABS is described and a measure of the 'matching rate' obtained. We develop a simple theoretical model designed to explore the relationship between the Labour Force Survey response rate(s) and the size of the matched sample relative to the potentially matched number of persons and report the results of an econometric model of the evolution over time of the size of the matched sample relative to the potentially matched number of persons. This paper has now been published by the Australian Gross Flows Data: The Labour Force Survey and the Size of the Population Represented by the Matched Sample, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 5(1): pp. 1-21 (2002).