A Procedure for Comparative Metropolitan Area Analysis Using the 1980 and 1990 Census Public Use Microdata Samples
Abstract: The 1980 and 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) of the US Census contain detailed information on individuals in large samples. The incompatible PUMS metropolitan geographies across these census years, however, compromise use of these data. In this note, we discuss a procedure to match the geography of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas in the 1980 and 1990 PUMS. Programmed in SAS, this set of matched customized metropolitan areas facilitates comparative urban analysis for 1980 and 1990. There are two technical appendices: Appendix One lists the counties that comprise our customized metropolitan areas in the 1990 PUMS; Appendix Two describes which customized metropolitan areas in the 1980 PUMS do not match perfectly with customized metropolitan areas in the 1990 PUMS and indicates what are the differences.