Weighting in rotating samples: The SILC survey in France - ARCHIVED

The European Union's Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) survey was introduced in 2004 as a replacement for the European Panel. It produces annual statistics on income distribution, poverty and social exclusion. First conducted in France in May 2004, it is a longitudinal survey of all individuals over the age of 15 in 16,000 dwellings selected from the master sample and the new-housing sample frame. All respondents are tracked over time, even when they move to a different dwelling. The survey also has to produce cross-sectional estimates of good quality.

To limit the response burden, the sample design recommended by Eurostat is a rotation scheme consisting of four panels that remain in the sample for four years, with one panel replaced each year. France, however, decided to increase the panel duration to nine years. The rotating sample design meets the survey's longitudinal and cross-sectional requirements, but it presents some weighting challenges.

Following a review of the inference context of a longitudinal survey, the paper discusses the longitudinal and cross-sectional weighting, which are designed to produce approximately unbiased estimators.