The main objective of the survey is to further our understanding of social and economic change at the individual and household level in Britain, to identify, model and forecast such changes, their causes and consequences in relation to a range of socio-economic variables.
The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is designed as a research resource for a wide range of social science disciplines and to support interdisciplinary research in many areas.
Sponsor:
ESRC
Contractor:
Size of data collection:
5,500 households per year
Linked surveys/sources:
Method:
Household/Person (Sample) Survey
Status:
Ongoing
Frequency of collection or compilation:
Annually
Reference period:
September to March
Timeliness:
10 months after collection
Year data first available:
1991 Adults (16 years and over) 1994 (Youth survey undertaken from wave 4)
Year of latest available data:
1998
History of data collection / breaks and discontinuities:
11 waves to date
Main areas for which data is collected:
National: England Scotland Wales
Extent of geographical coverage:
Sampled
Spatial units of data collection:
Postcode sector Declustered due to household and individual movement
Smallest spatial unit for which data are made available:
Commonly available units for which aggregate data are made available:
Standard geographical classification or coding systems used:
ONS Central Postcode Directory
Descriptive summary of geographical coverage and geographic referencing system:
Legislative status:
Deposited with data archive?
Yes
Bibliographic material:
Gershuny Jonathan., Buck, Nick., Rose, David., Scott, Jacqueline (eds) Changing Households. The BHPS 1990-1992., (1994) ESRC Research Centre on Micro-social Change, University of Essex Harkness, Susan. 'Gender earnings gap: evidence from the UK' Fiscal Studies, 1996:17, no2: 1-36 Jarvis, Sarah., Jenkins, Stephen P. 'How much income mobility is there in Britain?. Economic Journal, 1998 (Mar): 108:428-443 Jarvis, Sarah., Jenkins, Stephen P. 'Low income dynamics in 1990s Britain'. Fiscal Studies, 1997:18, no2:123-142 Scott, Jacqueline. 'Changing households in Briatin: so families still matter'. Sociological Review, 1997:45,no4:591-620
A face to face interview is conducted with all adults in the household aged 16 and over. They also undertake a self-completion questionnaire. A proxy schedule is used to collect information about absent household members. A telephone questionnaire is used as a final resort when all efforts to achieve a face to face interview have failed.
Households:
Information is collected at the level of the household from the household reference person or spouse.
Main topics covered:
Individual details - core subjects include neighbourhood and individual demographics, current enployment, labour and non-labour income, health and caring , employment history, values and opinions. Continuous measures of income and employment histories over the life of the survey.
Household details - core subjects include size and condition of dwelling, ownership, housing costs, consumer durables.
Rotating core (cyclical every two waves - individual questionnaire.) Health and caring - attitude towards cost/payments for health care. Distribution of wealth - social justice, government's roles and responsibilities, environment, management of household expenditures.
Variable components (asked once only) Lifetime marital status history (wave 2), lifetime employment status history, (wave 2), lifetime fertility and adoption history (wave 2), lifetime cohabitation history (wave 2), lifetime job history (wave 3), assets, wealth and debts (wave 5).
Key census variables used:
Age/Date of Birth Ethnic Group Nationality/Country of Birth Marital status Sex Social Group Socio-Economic Group
