Puerto Rico Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PR-PSID) - Project Summary/Abstract
This project will design and launch the Puerto Rico Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PR-PSID), a new
longitudinal panel survey that will provide representative data on the Puerto Rico population. PR-PSID will sup-
port detailed research on a variety of topics, focused on the causes and consequences of demographic change
and the relationship of this change to the wellbeing of the island's population. We will develop the necessary
survey instruments, sampling procedures, and fieldwork protocols for PR-PSID by borrowing and adapting
these to the Puerto Rico context from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)—a long-running panel sur-
vey of U.S. families that allows for the study of these and related topics. By adopting and adapting PSID defini-
tions, questionnaire instruments, and procedures, the PR-PSID will provide data for Puerto Rico that are di-
rectly comparable to data available for the U.S. This will support measurement continuity and comparability for
PR-PSID respondents who migrate between PR and the U.S. mainland in future waves of data collection. Our
specific aims are to develop survey instruments and a sampling frame for collecting population representative
data for PR-PSID; to pilot test the PR-PSID questionnaire, sampling procedures, and fieldwork protocols; and
to implement the baseline wave of PR-PSID in Puerto Rico in 2023 and process and distribute these data free
of charge to the research community. The new data from PR-PSID in 2023 and beyond—in conjunction with
comparable data from PSID for the U.S.—will provide a unique and valuable resource for studying economic
and social wellbeing and the causes and consequences of demographic change among Puerto Ricans. PR-
PSID is significant for a number of reasons. It will be the only representative panel survey of families in Puerto
Rico and will capture a broad range of social, economic, and demographic processes. The study will also pro-
vide a unique data source for studying Puerto Rican's moves to and family connections in the mainland U.S.,
including remitting behavior. Of particular value are the comparative data from PSID for the U.S. and the po-
tential for continued survey participation and measurement for PR-PSID sample members who move to and
from the mainland U.S. In time, PR-PSID has the potential to become an integral part of PSID with advantages
for PSID incorporating a large Latino sample and having nationally representative data if Puerto Rico should
ever become a U.S. state. Finally, PR-PSID scientific data for Puerto Rico on social, economic, and demo-
graphic processes of individuals and families will inform public policies and interventions that seek to improve
the status and wellbeing of the Puerto Rican population.