Does asking about citizenship increase labor survey non-response?

Robert Bernhardt () and Phanindra V. Wunnava ()
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Robert Bernhardt: University of Chicago
Phanindra V. Wunnava: Middlebury College

Journal of Population Economics, 2023, vol. 36, issue 4, No 14, 2457-2481

Abstract: Abstract The unsuccessful attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 US Census has drawn attention to citizenship questions on other surveys. Simultaneously, researchers have noted a secular increase in Current Population Survey (CPS) non-response. We combine these topics, studying the effect of the CPS citizenship question, added in the 1994 CPS redesign, on refusals. Direct panel regressions show states with higher rates of non-citizenship have higher refusal rates. An event-study regression discontinuity shows a 20-40% increase in refusals attributable to the redesign. Moreover, a difference-in-differences research design shows states with larger non-citizen and Hispanic populations were more affected by the redesign. These results imply the question causes non-citizens and Hispanics to refuse to participate in the survey disproportionately. Given the question appears to threaten the representativeness of the survey, we recommend there be a randomized controlled trial to precisely determine the question’s effects.

Keywords: Current population survey; Non-response; Survey refusal; Citizenship status; Immigration; Event study; Regression discontinuity; Panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C83 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-023-00945-1

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